McConnell bashes EPA in speech to coal group

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell bashed the Environmental Protection Agency in a harsh critique Wednesday, claiming federal regulators have "declared war" on the coal industry and asserting it's time to rein in the agency created by a fellow Republican decades ago.

McConnell, in a speech to the Kentucky Coal Association, said the EPA's regulatory decisions "defy logic," accusing the agency of "changing the rules in the middle of the game." The result, he said, has put many Kentucky mining operations in limbo.

"What EPA is doing is outside the scope of its authority and the law, and it represents a fundamental departure from the permitting process as originally envisioned by Congress," McConnell said in prepared remarks. "And it's time for Congress to rein the EPA in."

The EPA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

McConnell has proposed legislation that would require the EPA to move faster in granting federal permits needed to open coal mines.

In his speech, McConnell ramped up his attack on the agency created by President Richard Nixon. The EPA has come under increasing assault from resurgent congressional Republicans wanting to block it from controlling greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.

The EPA and the Justice Department have been suing electric utilities to get them to install the latest technology to capture pollution-causing emissions from coal-fired power plants in an effort to bring the utilities in line with the Clean Air Act.

McConnell took aim at the EPA's permitting process, saying more mining applications have come under enhanced review. He said the intent is to "run out the clock," a strategy he said is backed by President Barack Obama's administration and fellow Washington Democrats.

"They have declared war on Kentucky's coal industry," McConnell said.

McConnell said that EPA's efforts to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired plants would amount to a "backdoor national energy tax" that would hit consumers "every time you start your car or turn on a light bulb."

He noted that LG&E, a Kentucky utility, has proposed raising residential electric bills by about 19 percent by 2016 to pay for upgrading its coal-fired power plants to meet stricter federal environmental regulations.

"Of course the EPA's real goal here is not to see the Kentucky coal industry comply with its boatload of regulations and red tape," he said. "It is to see the Kentucky coal industry driven out of business altogether."

McConnell said the stakes are high for Kentucky, the nation's third-leading coal producer.

He also accused congressional Democrats of failing to promote an energy policy that responds effectively to high fuel prices.

"They've failed to answer the American people's call for greater domestic energy production because we cannot just rely on solar, wind or other energy sources that may be viable in the future but can't come close to fulfilling this country's energy needs today," he said.

McConnell said the country should take an "all of the above" approach to domestic energy production, including wind and solar.