Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club, Rep. Jim Moran, D-VA, then New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Mary Anne Hitt, director of the Beyond Coal Campaign, (L to R) hold a news conference announcing a partnership between Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Sierra Club to push for shutting down coal-fired powerplants and replace them with more environmentally friendly options aboard the Nina Dandy across from the GenOn coal-fired powerplant in Alexandria, Virginia, on July 21, 2011. UPI/Roger L. Wollenberg |
License Photo
The bill was in response to a proposed EPA rule that Republicans say would require new coal-fired generating plants to hit a nearly impossible emission standard using today's available technology.
Democrats criticized the bill as an attempt to undermine efforts to control carbon emissions from electricity plants, the Hill said.
The legislation also would allow Congress to set an effective date for proposed EPA rules relating to existing power plants. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy has said a proposed rule on carbon emissions limits for existing plants should be released by June.