Our coalition of Louisiana environmental organizations is alarmed by the language of Sen. Sharon Hewitt’s Senate Bill 292. If enacted as currently drafted, SB 292 would prohibit any Louisiana state agency from adopting or enforcing a state or regional program to regulate greenhouse gas emissions without specific legislative authorization. Among the categories of prohibited regulatory enforcement are five separate statutory provisions of the Clean Air Act.
In the interests of maintaining true cooperative federalism in the state’s administration of federal environmental programs, the promotion of a just transition from fossil fuel to renewable energy sources with all deliberate speed, and fostering intelligent and productive partnerships between citizen non-profit organizations and state and federal governmental agencies, we are respectfully requesting Dr. Earthea Nance, Administrator for the US Environmental Protection Agency Region VI, to independently evaluate the concerns expressed in the attached letter.
