The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday is hosting a listening session in Kansas City on the Trump administration’s proposal to scrap the Obama-era Clean Power Plan.
One of only three scheduled nationwide, the listening session is expected to draw attendees from far away, and nearby.
Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Sly James is among a group of 233 mayors from across the country who want to keep the Clean Power Plan in place. Limiting emissions from coal power plants, the mayors argue, would curb sea level rise and other extreme weather events that threaten their cities.
They sent a letter to EPA administrator Scott Pruitt urging him to reconsider.
“This is yet another ideologically based move that has nothing to do with finding a sustainable solution to climate change," the letter said.
Pruitt says the Clean Power Plan exceeds the EPA’s authority to regulate industry.
The Obama administration intended the plan to push states away from coal and toward cleaner sources of energy, like natural gas and wind.
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Brian Grimmett is an energy and environment reporter for KMUW’s Kansas News Service, a collaboration of KMUW, Kansas Public Radio, KCUR and High Plains Public Radio covering health, education and politics. Follow him on Twitter @briangrimmett.
