Albany Hosts First Hearing to Phase Coal Out of the State by 2020

Albany, NY. -- Elected officials and various local organizations gathered on Monday to urge the administration to quickly finalize a proposed plan that would phase coal out of the state by 2020. Advocates contend that a statewide framework must include a glidepath for communities and workers affected by this transition and to ensure full retirement of the affected plants - barring the way for these plants to burn other dirty energy sources like fracked gas, waste or biomass.

Last month, Governor Cuomo and the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)  announced the power plant pollution protection plan to put the dirtiest, most dangerous and most inefficient power plants on a clear pathway to retirement. This rule sets a national example for how to responsibly retire coal-fired power plants while ensuring safe, reliable and affordable power to the community. Additionally, the plan is an important step in ensuring the state achieves its goal of reducing climate pollution 40 percent by 2030 and 80 percent by 2050 all while cleaning up New York’s air and water and protecting public health.

The below elected officials and organizations provided the following comment:

“Governor Cuomo and Commissioner Seggos are to be commended for the proposed increased emissions reduction regulations which are a necessary next step to address the looming emergency presented by climate change,” New York State Assemblymember Patricia Fahy, 109th Dist said. “It is essential, too, that renewable energy alternatives continue to be fast-tracked so that New Yorkers’ energy needs are met, and new businesses and jobs are created to smooth the transition away from fossil fuels. New York continues to lead in addressing our greatest environmental challenges head on.”

“Now is the time to finalize this plan in order to make good on Governor’s commitment to end coal, and support those communities affected by the transition. As the state continues to replace dirty fossil fuels with clean energy, we must make sure none of these plants have the ability to repower with shortsighted dirty energy alternatives like fracked gas or biomass,”  Lisa Dix, New York Senior Representative of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign said. “With this first in the nation proposal, Governor Cuomo has demonstrated to the country and the world that it is possible to curb climate pollution and protect public health while building a 21st century renewable energy economy.”

"I commend the DEC for taking an enforceable action to phase coal out of the state. But more is needed to ensure this dirty energy is replaced with clean, renewable energy and not gas, biomass or waste to energy," said Irene Weiser, councilmember in the Town of Caroline in Tompkins County. “Tompkins County is host to one of the two remaining coal plants in NY. If Governor Cuomo is serious about climate change, he'll make sure these dangerous, inefficient, polluting old coal plants are shut down for good, not allowed to convert to burning other fossil fuels that continue to warm the planet."

“These proposed emissions regulations will produce double benefits for the Adirondack Park.  They will propel the closure of the two nearest sources of coal-fired smokestack emissions upwind of us, and will reduce acid rain in the Adirondacks. They will also reduce the carbon emissions that contribute to rapid climate change,” said Adirondack Council Outreach Coordinator Dana Mancini. “ We commend Governor Cuomo and Commissioner Seggos for taking this step to better protect the Adirondack Park’s water, air, wildlife and wilderness, while breaking New York’s reliance on coal to produce energy.”

“The Department of Environmental Conservation must act quickly on these regulations to assure New Yorkers that the state will live up to Governor Cuomo’s promise and eradicate coal fired power plants by 2020,” Conor Bambrick, Air and Energy Director for Environmental Advocates of New York. “Only then can we start to breathe easier.”

“We strongly support clamping down on carbon emissions from New York’s dirtiest power plants and urge the Department to apply the new rule to biomass facilities as well as fossil fuel fired power plants,” said Laura Haight, senior policy director for the Partnership for Policy Integrity (PFPI), an international nonprofit with expertise in biomass energy. “New York must not create a perverse incentive for coal plants to convert to wood-burning power plants, which can be more polluting than coal.”

"There has never been more of a need for New York to demonstrate environmental leadership than there is right now, given the climate-denying federal rollbacks on environmental and public health protections,”  said Kathleen Curtis, LPN, executive director of Clean and Healthy New York. “We applaud Governor Cuomo for acting as one of the nation's leading environmental champions, and urge him to ensure cessation of the burning of fossil fuels in New York State, provide job training to transition power plant workers to build New York’s clean energy and energy conservation infrastructure, and provide periodic review to meet climate pollution reduction goals and protect New Yorkers’ health."