The EPA is considering regulations that would kill American jobs by the bushel.

Excerpt:

According to [Sen. James] Inhofe, the administration’s proposed CO2/greenhouse gas-emission regulations—due out in November—could chop $300 billion to $400 billion alone off the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) each year.  Estimates from the Senate Energy and Public Works Committee’s Republican staff estimates this regulation could cost in excess of the 2 million jobs that would have been lost as a result of Waxman-Markey Climate Change Bill.

Other estimates suggest that the EPA’s Utility MACT and Transport Rule could cost $184 billion and 1.4 million jobs.  Statistics Inhofe provided suggest the rule could shutter hundreds of coal-fired power plants around the country—equaling as much as 20% of the nation’s total energy output.

[…]“We are relying on coal for as much as 45% of our nation’s energy,” Inhofe said.  “He’s intentionally passed a rule that will shut down coal in America, and there are lots of jobs that either directly or indirectly rely on coal.  It’s going to make it a lot much more expensive.”

These increased costs are underscored by a  Bernstein Research report that found:  “We expect the loss of this generation to translate into higher wholesale energy and capacity prices.  … We estimate that this will raise the price of electricity during on-peak hours by $3 to $5 per MWh.”

The rule’s impact hit closer to home for 120 workers at a Cincinnati-area coal-fired power plant when Duke Energy announced it would be closing the plant if the rule is approved in November.

“The anticipated retirement date is contingent on potential changes to the implementation [of the] EPA’s MACT rule and other environmental regulations,” Duke Energy said in a statement released in July.

And Texas-based Luminant followed suit last week, announcing it would be laying off 500 workers in anticipation of the implementation of the EPA’s cross-state air pollution rule, set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2012.

[…]The National Associations of Manufacturers estimates the Utility MACT and cross-state air pollution rules will cost its members $18 billion annually, and drive its members’ electricity costs up by 11.5%.  It also shares Inhofe’s analysis that these regulations could cost 1.4 million jobs annually.

But there is some good news from the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Excerpt:

The U.S. House of Representatives declared another victory today in its ongoing battle against destructive regulation with passage of H.R. 2681, the Cement Sector Regulatory Relief Act. The measure passed the full House with strong bipartisan support by a vote of 262 to 161.

H.R. 2681, authored by Reps. John Sullivan (R-OK) and Mike Ross (D-AR), will protect the domestic cement manufacturing industry from costly new rules issued by the EPA, which currently threaten widespread plant closures and thousands of American jobs. This legislation provides a remedy to EPA’s flawed cement MACT rules with a directive to EPA to propose achievable standards and timelines. This legislation will ensure public health and the environment is protected without sacrificing jobs.

“President Obama likes to talk about the need to invest in our nation’s infrastructure and this bipartisan legislation will remove regulatory barriers to growth in the construction and cement manufacturing industries,” said Sullivan. “The bottom line is that if EPA’s Cement MACT rules are not revised, thousands of jobs will be lost due to cement plant closures and higher construction costs. These rules threaten to shut down up to 20 percent of the nation’s cement manufacturing plants in the next two years, sending thousands of jobs permanently overseas and driving up cement and construction costs across the country.  Additionally, the Portland Cement Association estimates it will cost $3.4 billion – half of the industry’s annual revenues – just to comply with EPA’s current Cement MACT rule.”

I was surprised that a Democrat supported this bill, but it’s really important to protect American jobs.