ALEC Releases Economy Derailed: State-by-State Impacts of the EPA Regulatory Train Wreck, by ATI Fellow Todd Wynn

Washington, DC- April 23, 2012¬- For the past 42 years, Earth Day has been used to draw attention to environmental issues. In honor of Earth Day 2012, ALEC has released Economy Derailed: State-by-State Impacts of the EPA Regulatory Train Wreck celebrating the true story of America’s clean air and water successes by highlighting improvements in environmental quality over the past three decades. However, Economy Derailed also exposes the risks posed by the EPA’s recent regulatory onslaught. This excessive regulatory campaign has little to do with public health yet will have an immense impact on American quality of life.

Economy Derailed reveals that numerous EPA regulations are causing the shutdown of power plants across the nation, destroying jobs, raising energy costs, and decreasing reliability of electricity. Ranked according to potential job loss, the top ten states most impacted by the EPA are Illinois, West Virginia, Ohio, Alabama, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Kentucky, and North Carolina – all of which could shed over 20,000 jobs. Illinois will be the worst hit with jobs at risk totaling 38,382.

“Never before has the EPA undertaken such an immense regulatory assault on the production of affordable and reliable energy,” notes Economy Derailed author and ALEC’s Energy, Environment, and Agriculture Task Force Director Todd Wynn. “The EPA is depriving Americans of desperately needed jobs and making it more difficult for families to make ends meet. Ironically, by increasing the cost of energy, the EPA’s actions will have dangerous unintended consequences for the health of all Americans.”

Major findings in the report include:

• Environmental quality in the United States continues to improve, despite the doomsday rhetoric coming from the EPA and environmental groups. Mercury, carbon monoxide, ozone, lead, nitrogen oxide, particulates, fine particulates, and sulfur dioxide have all decreased in both ambient concentrations in the atmosphere and in total emissions.

• Electricity rates could increase 10.35 percent on average due to just five EPA regulations. Eleven states could see rate increases of over 20 percent. The state of Iowa has the highest potential rate increase at 32 percent.

• Over 100 power plants across the nation could be shut down due to pending EPA regulations. Ohio would be the worst hit with 13 power plants being retired early. Illinois is expected to lose the most total electricity generation: over 8,000 megawatts or enough energy to power over 6 million homes.

• A broad and diverse coalition – representing millions of workers, companies, state legislators and state officials across the country – have openly voiced opposition to escalating EPA expansion.

“States need to get involved in pushing back against EPA overreach that is threatening economic growth, and the standard of living of Americans in every state”, declared ALEC Energy, Environment, and Agriculture Task Force Chair Representative David Wolkins (IN).

ALEC’s Economy Derailed: State-by-State Impacts of the EPA Regulatory Train Wreck is available at www.regulatorytrainwreck.com.