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During an Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on the 2017 Environmental Protect Agency (EPA) budget, Eighth District Congressman Larry Bucshon, M.D. took Administrator Gina McCarthy to task on the economic viability of Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS).

When asked by Bucshon if any coal facility in the United States is successfully implementing CCS, McCarthy could only produce the name of one. Unfortunately, the facility McCarthy referenced is no longer operating.  

Here’s an excerpt of the interaction:

Bucshon: “Okay, so are there any coal facilities that [carbon capture and sequestration is] working on right now today?”

McCarthy:  “I believe it’s in Kemper and I believe there is a dam in Canada where it’s being fully utilized.”

Bucshon: “The one in Canada is going broke and Kemper is not operating.”

Through the agency’s proposed regulations, the EPA is attempting to force coal-powered generation facilities to implement the costly Carbon Capture and Sequestration.  During his exchange with McCarthy, Bucshon highlighted that it’s not feasible for current coal facilities to implement carbon capture because the technology is not yet commercially or economically viable.

Bucshon: “The reality is that was misleading, I think, to say that carbon capture and sequestration – for when we were talking about coal fire power plants – is commercially viable. In Indiana I have every coal mine in the state, so to my knowledge, you know, it’s not commercially viable or economically viable to implement that in Indiana. If it was I would be in favor of it being on all of our coal fire power plants. Just so you know, I agree the earth’s temperature is changing and I agree with technology and innovation we should always be advancing how we use all of our fuels. I agree with that premise. What I don’t agree with is federal agencies setting regulations that can’t be met with current technology and that’s what this is doing.”

Full video of the exchange can be accessed here: https://youtu.be/VVAyEWrtkgc.

Congressman Larry Bucshon, M.D. is a physician and Republican member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee serving his third term representing Indiana's 8th Congressional district. The 8th District of Indiana includes all or parts of Clay, Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Gibson, Greene, Knox, Martin, Owen, Parke, Perry, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Sullivan, Vanderburgh, Vermillion, Vigo, and Warrick counties.  

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