Democrats Approach New EPA Administrator with Coal Concerns

Reuters reported that 17 Democratic lawmakers from major coal producer West Virginia met with Gina McCarthy, the new administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to ask that she be flexible regarding future federal restrictions on carbon emissions.

As quoted in the market news:

‘We asked and made it clear that the way to implement additional regulations on coal had to be in a reasonable manner and take into account our state and our jobs and our families,’ said Larry Puccio, chair of West Virginia’s Democratic executive committee.

[US Senator Joe] Manchin requested Thursday’s meeting. He was the only Democrat in the Senate to vote against McCarthy’s confirmation, saying he did not object to her personally but to the ‘unreasonable and unobtainable’ standards the EPA would place on electrical generators that would directly have an impact on coal demand.

Click here to read the full Reuters report.