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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday it will abandon Biden-era rules that force coal-burning power plants to capture most of their CO2 emissions.
State leaders reacted positively to the announcement Monday.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey called the repeal “an important victory for reliable, affordable American energy after years of fighting federal efforts to shut down West Virginia’s coal and natural gas industries.”
“President Trump and Administrator Zeldin understand that America needs more energy, not regulations that force dependable sources of power off the grid and drive up costs for families and businesses,” he said. “This action will help protect West Virginia jobs, strengthen our electric grid, and allow our state to continue powering the nation.”
In his previous role as West Virginia Attorney General, Morrisey led state coalitions to push back against the carbon regulations. Those efforts culminated in the Supreme Court case West Virginia v. EPA, limiting the agency’s regulation of carbon emissions.
Current attorney general JB McCuskey praised the EPA’s announcement
“I applaud today’s announcement from the EPA — this bold action will drive down costs, helping everyone in America, and will ensure that the energy produced in this country is affordable, plentiful, secure, and environmentally responsible for everyone,” he said. “For years, the Clean Air Act was taken over by climate extremism, and this action will restore it to its original intent.”
On X, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said she was pleased with the end of what she called a harmful regulation that “would have eliminated jobs for hard-working West Virginians and decimated our country’s baseload energy production.”