Zinke Votes to Save Colstrip

Congressman Ryan Zinke voted, today, to oppose the Environmental Protection Agency’s new rules regarding performance standards for carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. The measure passed 242-180.

“If our Governor decides to comply with this supposed ‘Clean’ Power Plan, Montanans will suffer. All of Colstrip will have to close, essentially closing the entire town. Over seven thousand jobs will be lost. Energy costs for consumers will skyrocket. Personal income will be devastated. And, even more concerning, our state’s economic activity will decline by almost one billion dollars by 2025. As Montana’s lone Congressman, you can guarantee that I will do whatever is in my power to help keep Colstrip, Montana’s coal industry, and the workers who support it viable.

In 2007, Montana enacted a law that requires new coal mines to capture and sequester at least half of their CO2 emissions. The new EPA regulations will have a significant impact on Montana coal. This rule would have a large impact on the Crow Nation, as they have an estimated 9 billion tons of low-sulfur coal as well as crude oil and natural gas reserve.