Reps. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Mitch McConnell (R Ky.) asked the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday to include coal-producing states on its listening tour.
The EPA is scheduled to visit 11 regional offices to gather feedback about proposed carbon emissions limits for power plants. Capito and other House Republicans said the tour “conveniently avoids” the states where a carbon emissions rule would affect electricity cost the most, The Hill reports.
“I request the EPA host an additional listening session in Pikeville, Ky., which is located in the heart of coal country,” McConnell said in a letter to the EPA, according to The Hill. “Pikeville is certainly much more representative of those who work in the coal industry than San Francisco.”
Capito’s request to include the 15 states that produce coal on the tour has 17 co-sponsors.
“Given the profound implications these regulations could have for American families, businesses and our nation’s energy future, coal communities must have a seat at the table as EPA considers the path forward for the existing power fleet,” The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity said, The Hill reports.
The EPA tour has scheduled stops in San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Denver, Dallas, Seattle, Chicago, New York City, Washington, D.C., and Lenexa Kan. The first two stops of the tour were postponed due to the federal government shutdown.