JEA Hosts Community Discussion on EPA Proposed Clean Power Plan

2014-09-25

Jacksonville, FL - Today JEA hosted a community meeting to educate its customers and regional policymakers about the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed Clean Power Plan (CPP), what the rule expects to accomplish, its legal basis, and its likely impact on the U.S., Florida and JEA customers.

“Our vision for the symposium was to create a forum where we could all learn more about this very complex rule," said Mike Hightower, JEA board chair. “There are many facets to the EPA’s proposed rule and varying perspectives. The real challenge is to bring our community together to understand the rule holistically so that we can attain a reasonable balance between the environmental benefits we all want and our ability to absorb the cost impacts—both as a utility and as individual customers—in a reasonable and appropriate way.”

Speakers included: 

• Dr. Kenneth L. Mitchell, special assistant to the director of EPA Region 4 Clean Air program, presented the content of the proposed rule
  • View Presentation
• Jeff Holmstead, former assistant administrator of the United States EPA for Air and Radiation and currently recognized by Chambers USA as one of the nation’s leading climate change lawyers, addressed the legal basis for the rule 
• Theresa Pugh, director of the Environmental Services for the American Public Power Association articulated the national issues associated with the proposed rule
  • View Presentation
• Paul McElroy, Managing Director and CEO of JEA, posed the potential local impact on Jacksonville and its citizens.
  • View Presentation

“JEA’s focus in responding to the EPA’s proposed rule is to serve the best interests of our customers and our community in an environmentally and financially responsible way,” stressed Paul McElroy.

The symposium was attended by more than 122 policymakers, elected officials, regulators, business and community leaders, and citizens. This is the first of what will likely be two such forums. The second forum will occur after the EPA publishes the final rule in June 2015.

In June, the EPA proposed the Clean Power Plan to regulate and significantly reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the nation’s power plants beginning in 2020. With this rule the EPA would be restructuring the entire U.S. electricity sector, with substantial impacts on Florida and JEA. Comments on the proposed rule may be made by anyone through the options below and are due to the EPA by December 1, 2014.

• Email A-and-R-Docket@epa.gov: Include docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2013-0602 in the subject line of the message
• Fax your comments to: (202) 566-9744.
• Mail: Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), Mailcode 28221T, Attention Docket ID No. OAR–2013-0602, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460.

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