EPA head Scott Pruitt visits major Wyoming coal mine, preaches end of 'war on fossil fuels'

Two days after a crowd of 300 gathered in Gillette to debate the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate emissions at the cost of the coal industry, the head of that agency stood 20 miles away in one of the largest surface coal mines in the country: Black Thunder.

Scott Pruitt, the controversial leader of the EPA, came to Wyoming at the invitation of Sens. John Barrasso and Mike Enzi to see the coal industry first hand. The state provides about 40 percent of the thermal coal burned in the U.S. for power and would be uniquely affected by a carbon dioxide rule like the Clean Power Plan.

The rule’s goal of cutting carbon dioxide emissions in the electricity sector by about 30 percent compared to 2005 levels would have pressured utilities that buy Wyoming coal, wiping away customers that the coal industry around Wright and Gillette depend on.

Those in favor of the rule are largely concerned about emissions’ contribution to climate change. Those opposed see it as an attack on the coal industry.

Read more: http://trib.com/business/energy/epa-head-scott-pruitt-visits-major-wyoming-coal-mine-preaches/article_81c4e5f5-3cd9-569a-89fd-71cd4f9d91b1.html