Governor Gordon Joined by Other Governors in Pushing Back Against EPA Overreach

Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon and six other governors representing states including the Southwest Power Pool (SPP), have expressed concern over the consequences of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Transport Rule and its impact on the SPP’s ability to deliver reliable electricity. The Governors say the EPA’s decisions demonstrate the repeated attempts at federal overreach by the Biden Administration. In addition to pushing the Transport Rule forward, the EPA has summarily disapproved multiple SPP state transport implementation plans – clearly disregarding the states’ authority to regulate air quality. The Governors requested the SPP  expedite a full review of the impacts that the Transport Rule will have on the SPP’s ability to provide consistent, reliable dispatchable energy to its consumers. Wyoming provides significant amounts of coal to power producers in the Southwest Power Pool.

In a media release from the Governor’s Office, Gordon said he has made it clear from day one, he would stand up to federal overreach, especially where it negatively impacts Wyoming’s people and industries. A joint letter sent by the SPP state governors requested the EPA evaluate “the development of incentives to encourage the continued operation of dispatchable power plants so the uncertainty of this and other pending regulatory threats do not continue to drive premature retirements of the coal generation our region so desperately needs in the heat of the summer and cold of the winter.”