Scott Pruitt’s EPA will talk ‘so-called Clean Power Plan’ in KC Wednesday

The Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency intends to repeal President Barack Obama’s policy on fighting the droughts, floods, fires and rising sea level that characterize climate change by cutting greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.

But before it can do that, it’s required to hold a series of “listening sessions” where critics and supporters of the change can step up to the microphone and share their views.

Under EPA director Scott Pruitt, who as Oklahoma attorney general helped lead the dozens of states that challenged the Clean Power Plan, the agency now refers to the 2015 directive as the “so-called Clean Power Plan.”

In its statement announcing the repeal, the EPA said the move would help the U.S. coal industry and “reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens.” A leaked EPA memo claims health benefits from reducing emissions have been overstated, and that not having to comply with the rule would save $33 billion.

Pruitt has long argued that Obama didn’t have the legal authority to limit greenhouse gas emissions as he did, and the Supreme Court blocked implementation of the plan while the lawsuits from Pruitt’s state and others work their way through the courts.

Wednesday’s listening session in Kansas City, at 6501 Beacon Drive, will run from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this editorial’s headline incorrectly said Pruitt himself would be in Kansas City.

This story was originally published February 20, 2018 at 5:08 PM with the headline "Scott Pruitt’s EPA will talk ‘so-called Clean Power Plan’ in KC Wednesday."