Glory be to the GOP Congress.
In one fell swoop, they effectively killed the EPA’s controversial effort to regulate water in ditches and ponds, blocked the rule killing coal-fired power plants that Gov. Hickenlooper so gleefully signed onto, pulled the rug out from under the sage grouse listing, and for good measure, slashed $70 million from the regulatory budget.
Democrats are understandably spitting mad, because all of this language was added to the annual spending bills of the EPA and Interior Department that passed this week in the House and Senate Appropriations Committee. When the full bills start hitting their respective floors next week, Dems don’t have enough support to strip the language through amendments.
What remains to be seen is if President Obama will threaten to veto the bills because of the language.
The grouse measure would continue the moratorium on the endangered species listing for another year, well past the September due date for the final decision by the Interior Department.
It’s too bad Hick jumped the gun and volunteered to comply with the CO2 rule that shuts down coal-fired power plants. Ironic even, since he claims to support the Colowyo coal mine and the coal-fired plants it feeds. Hick even insisted this week that closing coal mines would not ease global warming.
It’s time for Hick to have a sudden change of heart, and unvolunteer Colorado from the EPA’s plan.
Doing so would not only save Northwest Colorado from economic devastation, but also save every Colorado family an estimated $700 a year in increased electric bills.