OPINION: Rolling over to D.C. bureaucrats hurts state
Does ignoring reality ever turn out for the best? When it comes to energy policy in Montana, Gov.Bullock sure seems to think so.
The state of Montana is set to take a devastating hit if the Obama administration’s latest attempt to destroy the coal industry, known as the Clean Power Plan, survives legal challenges. It will force a costly and unwarranted change to our nation’s economy, imposing billions in compliance costs on consumers across the country, and result in the near certain destruction of the coal industry in our state.
Unfortunately, Gov. Bullock appears content with simply rolling over to the pressure of beltway politics, while allowing thousands of Montanans to bear the heavy burden of this irresponsible, Washington, D.C., regulatory scheme.
Despite what the PR spin doctors employed by the Environmental Protection Agency may claim, the Clean Power Plan has one primary goal — an irreversible crippling of the coal industry. There is no way around that fact.
The coal industry contributes approximately 5,000 jobs in Montana with an annual payroll of $273 million; it has generated over $950 million into a trust fund used to fund critical infrastructure projects across the state every year; and it produces annual taxes in the state in excess of $118 million. Not to mention that an entire town right here in Montana is built around coal mining and electricity generation from coal.
The in-house analyses of the Clean Power Plan performed by the staff at the Montana Public Service Commission have found that any proposal to comply with the rule will require closing multiple generating units at Colstrip. This would be absolutely devastating to thousands of employees and their families in our state.
Unsurprisingly, it appears that Gov. Bullock intends to turn a blind eye to the havoc that this plan will wreak on Montana until after the elections next year, with his only response being the creation of a largely symbolic “advisory committee.” He needs to deal with reality. Kowtowing to Washington, D.C., bureaucrats does not “keep Montana in control of our energy future.” The Clean Power Plan has our state in a car, headed off of a cliff, regardless of who is “in the driver’s seat.”
To prove that the people of Montana are more important than his reelection campaign, Gov. Bullock can start by making clear his support for the lawsuit filed by Attorney General Tim Fox to stop this illegal rule from being imposed upon our state. The governor has already acknowledged the devastation that the Clean Power Plan will have on Montana, and the only reason for not unequivocally opposing this rule is fear of radical environmental groups, and the money that they are ready to spend against him during the next election cycle if he doesn’t fall in line with their agenda.
It is true that implementing a state-based compliance strategy is preferable to a federal one in the unfortunate event that the Clean Power Plan survives legal challenge. However, vigorously opposing the plan, while crafting a state proposal for compliance if necessary, should not be mutually exclusive. Montana’s elected officials must be a united front to ensure that our state never has to endure the devastating effects that this ill-advised policy will inevitably create.
Governor, it’s time to show the people of Montana where you really stand.
Brad Johnson, an East Helena Republican, is a former Montana secretary of state and currently serves as the chairman of the Montana Public Service Commission.