The Indiana Black Legislative Caucus (IBLC) is warning that the federal government’s rollback of greenhouse-gas regulations for coal- and natural-gas-fired power plants could have serious consequences for public health and the environment, particularly in communities already burdened by pollution.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on September 14 finalized the repeal of major portions of 2024 greenhouse-gas requirements for fossil-fuel power plants and proposed eliminating remaining greenhouse-gas standards for the power sector. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the changes are intended to reduce regulatory costs and support reliable, affordable electricity.
The regulations adopted in 2024 included requirements based on carbon capture and storage technology capable of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 90 percent for certain coal-fired plants and heavily used new natural-gas facilities. The Biden administration’s EPA estimated that its broader power-plant rules could prevent as many as 1,200 premature deaths, 360,000 cases of asthma symptoms and 57,000 lost workdays in 2035.
The current EPA disputes the previous administration’s assessment of the regulations. The agency said its September 14 action would reduce regulatory costs and argued that potential public-health harms associated with greenhouse-gas emissions from the U.S. power sector are difficult to attribute specifically to those facilities. EPA estimates its finalized repeal will produce approximately $310 billion in savings.
State Rep. Earl Harris Jr., D-East Chicago, chairman of the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus, sharply criticized the rollback and its potential effect on Indiana residents.
“Gov. Braun alleges these deregulations will save billions of dollars in energy production,” Harris said in a statement issued on behalf of the caucus. “Even if that is the case, what we save on energy production we will have to spend in healthcare mitigating the harms of this disastrous decision.”
Harris argued that Indiana can ill afford environmental policies that he believes could increase health risks and medical costs.
“Hoosiers simply cannot afford any measures that would further jeopardize our health and our environment,” Harris said.
His concerns carry particular significance in Northwest Indiana, where East Chicago, Gary and surrounding industrial communities have long confronted questions involving air quality, industrial emissions and their potential effects on residents.
Harris also linked environmental policy to Indiana’s broader health challenges, arguing that state leaders should consider potential health costs when weighing the economic benefits of deregulation.
“Gov. Braun cannot claim this move is about ‘affordability’ when our healthcare costs are bound to skyrocket as a result,” Harris said. “It is reprehensible for the Braun administration to jeopardize public health in order to potentially lower utility bills when there are better paths toward affordability that won’t make our state sicker.”
The dispute reflects competing arguments surrounding the federal policy change. EPA maintains that removing the regulations will lower costs, strengthen the reliability of the nation’s power supply and provide economic benefits. Harris and the IBLC contend that potential savings must be weighed against environmental and public-health consequences.
The September 14 EPA action also proposed rescinding remaining greenhouse-gas standards for fossil-fuel power plants. That proposal is subject to a public hearing and comment period before the agency takes final action.