The Senate Tuesday adopted an amendment to Senate Bill 1195 (White-R-Indiana) by a vote of 47 to 3 that represented an agreement between the Governor’s Office the Senate on how any plan DEP develops in response to EPA’s Clean Power Climate Plan will be reviewed by the General Assembly.
The Senate then passed the bill Wednesday by a vote of 41 to 9. The bill now goes to the House for action. The House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee is likely to move the bill on June 13.
The amendment revises the Act 175 process and timeline for review to account for the present U.S. Supreme Court stay in implementing EPA Plan, supposedly cutting the overall review time for the General Assembly from 24-26 months to 15 months.
New language prohibits DEP from submitting any plan to implement EPA’s rule until the Court’s stay is lifted.
“Senate Bill 1195 is a compromise agreement between the General Assembly and Gov. Wolf that provides important safeguards that protect local energy-producing industries and the thousands of workers they employ from overreaching regulations that could come with Pennsylvania’s compliance with the federal Clean Power Plan,” said Sen. White. “The U.S. Supreme Court has suspended the implementation of the Clean Power Plan rules for further discussion and evaluation, so it only makes sense for Pennsylvania to follow that approach.”
A summary of the amendment is available online.
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