Bucshon Votes for Regulatory Certainty on Coal Ash

 

(Washington, DC) – Representative Larry Bucshon (R – Ind.) released the following statement after the House passed H.R. 2218, The Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act of 2013.  H.R. 2218 replaces the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) plan to regulate coal ash as a hazardous waste with a state-based program that sets enforceable standards protecting thousands of jobs and preventing the increase of electricity and construction costs.

Representative Bucshon (IN-08) said:

“With every Hoosier coal mine located in the 8^th District, this bill is critical to protecting thousands of jobs here in Southwest Indiana and keeping energy prices low across the state.

The Administration has taken a radical approach to coal ash regulation, despite the EPA’s own 1993 and 2000 studies concluding this byproduct is not hazardous.

 

“Coal is necessary to an all-of-the-above energy plan and vital to our nation’s energy production that sustains good-paying jobs. This administration cannot continue to implement an ideological agenda that harms hardworking families.”

Harnessing the beneficial use of coal ash will provide for low-cost durable construction materials, keep electricity costs low, and will reduce the amount of waste going into impoundments and landfills.

 

Instead, the EPA’s current classification is estimated to put over 300,000 jobs at risk and cost up to $110 billion over 20 years.

The #WarOnCoal is Devastating to Indiana’s Economy…

Indiana, especially the 8th District, is home to an abundance of natural resources that are vital to our state’s energy production and a vital source of high paying Hoosier jobs.

·         88 percent of all electricity generated in Indiana is from coal and 100 percent of the coal production in Indiana is done in the 8th District.

·         This natural resource is vital to our state’s energy industry and supports over 3,300 direct mining jobs and approximately 12,000 indirect mining jobs.

·         27 percent of Indiana’s GDP is from manufacturing, which is dependent on coal-fired electric generation.

·         In 2010 Indiana mined around 36 million tons of coal and consumed nearly 65 million tons.

·         Currently, Indiana has more energy underground in the form of coal reserves than the entire United States does in the form of oil and gas reserves.

·         Indiana’s demonstrated coal reserve base of over 17 billion short tons is enough to maintain current level of production for over 500 years.

·         The reserve base for the entire Illinois Basins, which includes Indiana coal, is over 130 billion tons is enough to meet entire U.S. coal demands for over 100 years.