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SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, A reliable and affordable energy supply is vital
3to Illinois's economic growth, jobs, and the overall interests
4of its citizens; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Illinois supports an all-the-above energy
6strategy because it is in the best interest of Illinois and the
7nation; and
 
8    WHEREAS, The United States has abundant supplies of coal
9that provides economic and energy security benefits; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Coal provides affordable and reliable electricity
11to the citizens of Illinois; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Carbon regulations for existing coal-fueled power
13plants could threaten the affordability and reliability of
14Illinois's electricity supplies and risk substantial job
15losses through the premature closure of power plants that have
16just invested in pollution controls to meet the United States
17Environmental Protection Agency's recent mercury regulations;
18and
 
19    WHEREAS, Carbon dioxide emissions for United States'
20coal-fueled power plants represent only 3% of global

 

 

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1anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions; and
 
2    WHEREAS, The United States Energy Information
3Administration projects that U.S. electric sector carbon
4dioxide emissions will be 14% below 2005 levels in 2020 and
5that carbon dioxide emissions from U.S. coal-fueled power
6plants will be 19% below 2005 levels in 2020; and
 
7    WHEREAS, On June 25, 2013 the President directed the
8Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection
9Agency to issue standards, regulations, or guidelines to
10address carbon dioxide emissions from new, existing, modified,
11and reconstructed fossil-fueled power plants; and
 
12    WHEREAS, The President expressly recognized that states
13"will play a central role in establishing and implementing
14carbon standards for existing power plants"; and
 
15    WHEREAS, The Clean Air Act requires the Environmental
16Protection Agency to establish a procedure under which each
17state shall develop a plan for establishing and implementing
18standards of performance for existing sources within the state;
19and
 
20    WHEREAS, The Clean Air Act expressly allows states, in
21developing and applying such standards of performance, "to take

 

 

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1into consideration, among other factors, the remaining useful
2life of the existing source to which such standard applies";
3and
 
4    WHEREAS, The Environmental Protection Agency's existing
5regulations provide that states may adopt "less stringent
6emissions standards or longer compliance schedules" than EPA's
7guidelines based on factors such as "unreasonable cost of
8control", "physical impossibility of installing necessary
9control equipment" or other factors that make less stringent
10standards or longer compliance times "significantly more
11reasonable"; and
 
12    WHEREAS, It is in the best interest of electricity
13consumers in Illinois to continue to benefit from reliable,
14affordable electricity provided by coal-based electricity
15generating plants; therefore, be it
 
16    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL
17ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that urges we urge the
18United States Environmental Protection Agency, in developing
19guidelines for regulating carbon dioxide emissions from
20existing power plants, to respect the primacy of Illinois and
21other states and to rely on state regulators to develop
22performance standards for carbon dioxide emissions that take
23into account the unique policies, energy needs, resource mix,

 

 

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1and economic priorities of Illinois; and be it further
 
2    RESOLVED, That the Environmental Protection Agency should
3issue guidelines and approve state-established performance
4standards that are based on reductions of carbon dioxide
5emissions achievable by measures undertaken at fossil-fueled
6power plants; and be it further
 
7    RESOLVED, That the Environmental Protection Agency should
8allow Illinois and other states to set less stringent
9performance standards or longer compliance schedules for power
10plants within their jurisdiction; and be it further
 
11    RESOLVED, That Illinois and other states should be given
12maximum flexibility by the Environmental Protection Agency to
13implement carbon dioxide performance standards for
14fossil-fueled power plants within their jurisdiction; and be it
15further
 
16    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
17delivered to the Illinois Congressional delegation, the
18Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection
19Agency Gina McCarthy, and Illinois Governor Pat Quinn.