Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet Secretary Len Peters says Kentucky can’t afford to take a hands-off approach to the Environmental Protection Agency’s new proposed carbon emissions standards.
On KET’s One-to-One, Peters defends his approach to the EPA, which has been one of engagement. It’s a markedly different game plan from the one laid out by Sen. Mitch McConnell, who has suggested that states refuse to submit their plans for moving away from coal-fired power plants.
"We took the strategy that we wanted to put Kentucky in the best position we could if in fact carbon-based regulations were going to be put into place," Secretary Peters says. "And so we started talking with the EPA early on, informing them what our economy looked like and why our economy was different that California's economy."
Peters argues that strategy helped push the EPA to allow for greater flexibility in states where coal still plays a major role in energy production.
The final regulations are expected sometime in August.
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