Michael Bennet: “today, I am bringing the Congressional Review Act resolution to the floor to challenge EPA's disapproval of Colorado's…”

“today, I am bringing the Congressional Review Act resolution to the floor to challenge EPA's disapproval of Colorado's regional haze plan. I want to thank my colleagues Senator Hickenlooper and Senator Whitehouse for joining me in this effort. For decades, we have relied on a simple principle in this country to keep our air clean: States and the Federal Government work together to reduce pollution and protect public health. That includes programs like Regional Haze, which is designed to improve visibility in national parks and wilderness areas, like Rocky Mountain National Park in Northern Colorado. In 2022, Colorado submitted a good-faith plan to improve air quality. The State provided a range of solutions--including the voluntary, already-planned retirement of aging coal plants. The decisions to close these plants were driven by basic economics. Colorado utilities recognized that it no longer made sense to keep them open, based on the high costs of maintaining and operating. And so in its regional haze plan, Colorado incorporated these previously made decisions into the State's strategy to reduce air pollution. But EPA rejected Colorado's plan--not because it failed to meet Federal standards. EPA rejected it because President Trump is laser-focused on keeping even aging coal plants operational, regardless of the costs or the desires of the local communities. EPA's disapproval of Colorado's plan was based on an unprecedented and flawed legal theory.”