| July 27, 2012 William Harasym 200 Smith Street Apt 410 Sheridan, WY 82801-3842 Dear William: Thank you for contacting me regarding coal mining in Wyoming. I am a strong, unapologetic supporter of coal mining in Wyoming, and use of coal for affordable electricity. The Powder River Basin (PRB) of Wyoming and Montana is the Saudi Arabia of coal. The total amount of recoverable resources in this tiny area of the country is staggering. In fact, the PRB supplies about 40% of the entire country's coal supply for electricity generation. Coal production in Wyoming is safe, environmentally sound, and a massive economic driver for our state and country. Contrary to the claims of some, coal use will not diminish in this country or the world anytime soon. While the Obama Administration is doing everything in its power (and many things outside of its power) to advance its anti-coal agenda, it cannot hide from the verifiable fact of strong demand for coal. Domestically, coal remains the most abundant, affordable, and reliable source of low cost energy for middle class families and the manufacturing sector of our country. Internationally, coal usage grew by 60% over the last decade, and is expected to continue to grow exponentially in the next decade. While we in America wring our hands over first world problems like what emissions reductions work best, today, nearly 1.3 billion people do not have access to electricity in the world. There is no debate that coal will be the primary source of bringing power to these parts of the world. Some have called President Obama's anti-coal agenda a "war on coal." In my estimation it is a war on affordable electricity. Take for example the Environmental Protection Agency's recently proposed rules on carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants. That rule set carbon emissions standards so low that it effectively bans any new coal-fired power plants from being built in the United States ever again. In fact, the emission level is set so unrealistically low that it might even ban natural gas plants at higher elevations. By the stroke of a pen, the EPA has single-handedly taken our most abundant and affordable natural resource off the table. The costs of the carbon emissions regulations alone to the American economy will be staggering. Combine that with the other coal-related proposed or final rules at the EPA and Department of the Interior, and the total cost to the U.S. economy rises to the billions of dollars every year by the EPA's own estimate. In fact, in response to the EPA's onslaught of regulations, 59 power plants that produce 25.4 gigawatts of power are slated to close. That's enough electricity to power 19.1 million homes, and those plants employ 29,000 workers. Perhaps most troubling is that even if the EPA is successful in shutting down our economy in their zeal to cut emissions, they will have succeeded at nothing. A complete and total end to U.S. carbon emissions would not put a measurable dent in global carbon output. I cannot stand by while the EPA single-handedly prevents our economic recovery over an issue they cannot control even if I were to ascribe to them the best possible intentions. I fully intend to continue my battle to halt the Obama Administrations war on affordable electricity, and to support Wyoming's hard working coal families by any legislative means available. Thank you again for taking the time to write to me. I value your input. If you haven't done so already, I would like to encourage you to visit my website at www.lummis.house.gov. There you can sign up to receive my newsletter, and have access to a wealth of other information. I won't flood your email box, but I will provide you with updates once in a while about activities in Washington that affect our lives in Wyoming. I hope you will sign up so that we can stay in close touch, and I look forward to seeing you in Wyoming. Sincerely, Cynthia M. Lummis Member of Congress |
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