State Representative Jim Struzzi said yesterday he is reintroducing legislation which Governor Tom Wolf vetoed last year that would have required the General Assembly’s consideration of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Wolf’s controversial proposal to join by executive order a nine-state compact to limit greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants.
Struzzi and Senator Joe Pittman have led the charge against joining the so-called “RGGI,” saying it would force the closure of Indiana County’s power plants and kill thousands of jobs, while devastating school districts and municipalities which rely on taxes from the plants to operate their schools.
Struzzi says “The governor is simply not listening to the many, many voices” opposed to RGGI. This week, the Independent Regulatory Review Commission questioned the legality of the proposal and ordered the Wolf Administration to justify why it believes it has the power to order the state to join the compact, while also calling for a one-year delay in the implementation.
In announcing the reintroduction of the bill, Struzzi included video of an exchange he had with DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell, urging the administration to come to Indiana County and talk to the people about the loss of their jobs. McDonnnell replied, “This is not a question of if but when we’re going to see the closure of these plants…” adding later “The governor’s proposal is, how do we work those communities to manage that?”
Struzzi says that Pennsylvania “should not be the only state to enter into RGGI by circumventing the Legislature. Too much is at stake and I’m not giving up.”
