Page 28 - Flathead Beacon // 11.5.14

28 | NOVEMBER 5, 2014 OPINION
LETTERS
HOW MUCH ARE YOU WILLING TO PAY FOR EPA’S RULES?
Too little attention has been paid to the costs and benefits of the EPA’s proposal to regulate emissions from power plants. A recent series of presentations by Gov. Steve Bullock’s office on his plans for implementing the EPA’s rules focused on the technical aspects of different compliance scenarios – but there was virtually no discussion of the costs of those scenarios nor what the EPA’s rule would accomplish overall.
It’s really putting the cart before the horse to figure out how best to comply with the EPA’s rule before we have a real discussion about what the costs will be for Montanans.
Recent polling bears this out. In a survey conducted this month by the Partnership for a Better Energy Future (PBEF), 74 percent of Montana voters agreed that the “government should weigh all costs/benefits” when creating a rule like the EPA’s proposed emissions regulation. Only 15 percent thought that government should confront climate change “at any cost.”
Yet it seems that the “at any cost” crowd is in the driver’s seat both at the national level and in Montana.
PBEF’s polling shows that in Montana and in the nation overall, the EPA’s proposal has very little support. Only 39 percent of Montanans surveyed supported the rule. For the rest, the costs were the driving forces behind their opposition. Costs both in monetary terms – higher energy prices – and in terms of lost jobs and economic opportunity for our state.
It’s notable this much opposition has formed before the full magnitude of those costs has really been examined. Exactly how big is the burden that Montanans can expect to result from the rule?
In a recent study conducted by NERA Economic Consulting, it’s estimate that the EPA’s plan could lead to double digit electricity price increases in 43 states, costing the U.S. economy over $350 billion in lost production. Montana is among the hardest-hit states in terms of energy price hikes – the study forecasts a 20 percent increase in the price we’ll pay for our electricity.
The magnitude of the job losses for Montana has not been calculated yet. But consider that the coal industry alone supports 5,000 jobs in our state – and these are high-wage jobs with the average wage and benefit package at Montana coalmines in the six-figures.
Two recent coalmine expansion proposals are predicted to lead to nearly 5,000 new jobs each. Those projects are highly unlikely if the EPA’s rule goes into effect, and all of our existing coal-related jobs are at risk.
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So far, nothing has been proposed to replace the jobs we’d lose as a result of the EPA’s rule. There would be a few jobs created in the wind industry, for example, but nothing that would provide even a fraction of the jobs in the coal industry.
And we have to remember that for all the higher energy prices that would be forced upon Montana consumers, and for all the jobs that we could lose in our state, the benefit is tiny. The most optimistic projections are that the EPA’s proposal would lead to a 1.5 percent reduction in global emissions.
PBEF’s polling results also show a very real concern that the EPA’s plan could undermine our power grid, leading to brownouts and blackouts. That would be a further hit to our state economy – it’s hard for any business to thrive when their electricity supply is in question.
Now that some of the costs associated with the EPA plan are becoming evident, it’s no surprise that public support is waning. There’s little doubt that we need to address climate change, but we have to do it within a framework of reasonable costs – not at any cost. Those costs are an essential part of the discussion – it’s time our elected officials started giving them the attention they deserve.
Bob Lake, public service commissioner Hamilton
CLEAN WATER ESSENTIAL TO QUALITY OF LIFE
The Flathead Lakers are encouraged by two ongoing planning efforts that we hope will lead to better protection for clean water in Flathead Lake and its watershed.
The Flathead Regional Wastewater Management Group recently held a public meeting to discuss problems that wastewater disposal and management pose for water quality and the financial burdens related to upgrading municipal wastewater treatment plants. Members of the group include representatives from water and sewer boards, cities, counties, and Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.
Excellent presentations from a variety viewpoints sparked a lively discussion about problems and potential solutions. We applaud this group, the Flathead and Lake County health department directors and other presenters, the Flathead Basin Commission, and the citizens who attended the meeting for taking a serious look at problems and initiating a forum to explore solutions for the future that will benefitusall.
There was agreement at the wastewater meeting that the dialogue on wastewater should continue. You can watch for announcements of future public meetings. The Lakers plan to post announcements on our website.
Meanwhile, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is in the final stages of completing the TMDL for Ashley Creek, a tributary of the Flathead River upstream from Flathead Lake. The
TMDL (which stands for total maximum daily load) is a report on the causes and sources of water quality impairment that provides information to help plan and prioritize restoration and mitigation projects. The report indicates that septic systems contribute a significant amount of the pollution reaching Ashley Creek.
The public comment period for the draft Ashley Creek TMDL is open now through November 12. You can find the TMDL and more information about the process on the DEQ website.
Flathead Lake and clean water are central to our quality of life and local economy and deserve all of our efforts to protect and improve them.
Greg McCormick, president Flathead Lakers
COMPACT COMMISSION ABANDONS MONTANA
It is such a shame that the Compact Commission has wasted millions of taxpayer dollars “negotiating” the CSKT Compact over a period of 10 years. If you’ve been negotiating that long, you should not end up with a document that is 1,400 pages long and is still incomplete. In the last year and a half, and under the guise of “reopened negotiations,” the Compact Commission has further wasted taxpayer dollars by not changing anything in the Compact that was defeated by the Legislature in 2013.
So let’s add it up. Ten years at roughly $1 million per year gives us $10 million (see DNRC Compact Commission budget figures). Then for the last year and a half, let’s add another $1 million. The state of Montana’s contribution to the CSKT Compact is still pegged at $55 million, half of which will spend money on a federal, not state, irrigation project. So that amount of money translates into $66 million dollars to “negotiate” a 1,400 page “agreement” that in the end doesn’t protect Montanans, gives up state authority to administer state water resources of its citizens, and invites the federal government to take control of western Montana’s water.
And Compact proponents continue to whine about how not passing a compact will be so expensive?
Truthfully, it would be a much better use of taxpayer monies to defend Montana citizens against the overreach of the federal government than to spend taxpayer monies on defeating Montanan’s property rights.
Skip Biggs St. Ignatius
CORRECTION
In last week’s story, “The Rise and Fall of John Walsh,” the Beacon misidentified Walsh’s military position as Adjunct General. It should have read Adjutant General.
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CORRECTIONS
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