On November 7, 2020, in spite of overwhelming, bipartisan opposition from the Pennsylvania State House and Senate, Governor Tom Wolf submitted his proposed Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) regulatory tax to the Independent Regulatory Reform Commission (IRRC) for consideration and approval. The public comment period runs from November 7, 2020 to January 14, 2021, which coincides with three national holidays and the end of the two-year General Assembly Session on November 30, 2020. There will be 10 public hearings, but only over five days from December 8-14, 2020. All hearings are virtual. None will be held within impacted communities as required under Pennsylvania law.
Aside from the thousands of jobs lost at shuttered power plants, even more would be lost in manufacturing, transportation logistics servicing power plants and manufacturers, producers of raw materials and manufactured products and raw materials, vendor services, and all the jobs that support these core industrial activities. Entire communities, like Indiana County will be directly and immediately harmed due to the loss of the indirect and direct jobs, all because of Governor Wolf’s unilateral and illegal action.
In October 2019 the Indiana County Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution condemning the Regional Greenhouse Gas initiative, on many levels, all of which spoke to how the RGGI tax would not enhance or promote a positive lifestyle for residents of Indiana County.  Commissioner Ruddock said “I think the intentions are good, but what’s going to happen is that you will have a lot of our plants closing because they won’t be able to afford the taxation and still be operational. If they leave Indiana County, there will be a serious dent in property tax because it will devastate the base of our property tax in many of our communities. When you do something like this, there is an impact on communities like Indiana County where the complementary organizations, trucks, the people that support the coal-mining industry in Indiana County will be affected by this.” Mr. Ruddock also added that the resolution signifies a call for education of the public and political leaders to the potential impact of RGGI on Indiana County and other communities that fact plant closures.

Commissioner Hess said “I support this resolution because the initiative could have devasting effects on local economies and because I support the workers that are involved in this industry. But I also want to say that, increasingly, climate change is a concern to many Pennsylvanians and many in Indiana County and we have to find a way to deal with it. I do not think the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is a fair way to deal with it because it will have a disproportionate impact on counties like Indiana County and we already have taken many hits to our economies. Pennsylvania is the fourth largest producer of carbon-dioxide emissions and we need to urge our elected officials to work on the solutions that will address this problem. I have spent my career working on cleaning up the effects of the extraction industries, and doing that for the reasons that it beautifies, and brings tourism dollars and cleans our air, water and soil. I agree with the statements and facts in the resolution and support it, but we do need to applaud our elected officials who are trying to find solutions to climate change issues because it will affect us all. The world is moving toward a cleaner energy economy, and I hope Pennsylvania and counties will move along with it.”
“The closing of these power generation plants within our school district will not only impact businesses through job loss, it will also have a negative impact on our educational resources,” said Curtis A. Whitesel, Superintendent for Homer-Center School District. “If this proposal prevails, our school district would rapidly face an annual $800,000 budget shortfall, along with hard decisions about how to fill that shortfall, cut programs and reduce opportunities for our students.”

“Small businesses that support the electricity generation and coal-related industries throughout Pennsylvania will experience a significant setback to their businesses,” said Mark Hilliard, president of the Indiana County Chamber of Commerce. “This policy is pure anti-business and a will create a true competitive disadvantage for Pennsylvania as a whole.”
Senator Joe Pittman and Representative Jim Struzzi are calling on residents of their Districts to step forward and actively participate in the public comment period currently open for Pennsylvania’s proposed entry into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative- also known as “RGGI”.
The Department of Environmental Protection’s Environmental Quality Board is accepting public comment through January 14^th.  The board will also hold 10 virtual public hearings from December 8^th through the 14^th.

The Environmental Quality Board is accepting comments through the DEP’s eComment system or by email at RegCommens@pa.gov.  A subject heading of “CO2 BUDGET TRADING PROGRAM” and a return name and address must be included with each submission.  Written comments may also be made by mail to” Environmental Quality Board, P.O. Box 8477, Harrisburg, PA  17105-8477