Link here to the Wall Street Journal story regarding an earlier post asking whether the president went a bit too far too fast trying to kill the coal industry. I don't recall how I portrayed the issue, but a reader was kind enough to explain what was going on.
The Obama administration is weighing changes to a proposed
Environmental Protection Agency rule to limit emissions at new power
plants, in a preemptive move to protect against possible court
challenges, according to people familiar with the matter.
The changes
may require the EPA to seek more public input, a move that would push
the measure months past an April 13 deadline for finalizing it.
The proposed rule would limit emissions
of carbon-dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas that many scientists have
linked to a warming planet, to 1,000 pounds per megawatt-hour of
electricity generated at new power plants, whether fired by coal or
natural gas.
The EPA put forth its proposal in March
2012 and immediately drew fire because it would essentially ban new
coal-fired power plants that use current technologies.
The agency hasn't
decided to alter that part of the proposal, but it is weighing concerns
that the rule as written may not withstand legal scrutiny, said people
who have been briefed on EPA talks.
The reader pointed out correctly: the president won't quit in his quest to kill the coal industry; at most, this newest wrinkle is only temporary.
