AUSTIN – The Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Fueling Freedom Project today announced the launch of the Interstate Power Compact, an agreement between participating states to prevent the federal overreach of the Clean Power Plan.
“The Interstate Power Compact is a powerful tool to protect Texas and all states from the EPA’s unconstitutional and overreaching proposed federal carbon rule so-called the Clean Power Plan,” said Doug Domenech, Director of TPPF’s Fueling Freedom Project. “The Interstate Power Compact will allow states to join together to prevent the EPA from taking over our currently affordable and reliable electricity production capacity, and replace it with plan managed by bureaucrats in Washington, DC.
“The interstate compact is a powerful Constitutional device that permits states to maintain their sovereignty by allowing them to act collectively outside the confines of federal legislation or regulation. When used effectively, compacts provide regional or national policy solutions without interference from the federal government. This compact also let states develop a dynamic, self-regulatory system that remains flexible enough to address changing needs.”
The full text of the Compact is available here: http://txpo.li/InterstatePowerCompact
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently finalizing the Clean Power Plan rule affecting existing power plants. The new rule, already the subject of litigation, is widely opposed by many state environmental agencies, governors, and attorneys general. Experts predict that the carbon rule will significantly increase the cost of electricity hurting consumers—especially low-income families—businesses, and communities.
Authority for compacts was established in Article I, Section 10 of the U.S. Constitution, and more than 200 such agreements are in force today.
For more information, please contact Caroline Espinosa at [email protected].
The Honorable Doug Domenech is Director of the Fueling Freedom Project at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Domenech most recently served as Secretary of Natural Resources for the Commonwealth of Virginia and served as White House Liaison and deputy chief of staff at the U.S. Department of the Interior.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit, free-market research institute based in Austin, Texas.