ND North News

U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, has expressed support for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposal to repeal the 2009 endangerment finding. The original finding, issued during the Obama administration, determined that greenhouse gas concentrations, mainly carbon dioxide, posed a risk to public health and welfare. This determination has served as the foundation for regulatory efforts aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions in sectors such as power generation and vehicle standards under both the Obama and Biden administrations.

Senator Cramer stated: “EPA Administrator Zeldin and President Trump certainly got this one right. They listened to the voice of reason and they clarified the role of the endangerment finding in our energy and environmental policy,” “Congress, the voters, and the Supreme Court certainly have all repeatedlyweighed in and rejected the heavy-handed, command and control approach that the Obama and Biden administrations mandated when they relied upon this flawed endangerment finding and they used it to upend American energy. Power plants in the United States are really only responsible for a very small and a declining percentage of global greenhouse gas concentrations. Their contribution, frankly, is dwarfed by the emissions from large polluting countries like China and India where they are building new power plants at a very rapid pace. And by the way, their power plants don’t have the technology that actually reduces greenhouse gas emissions like we do. Increasing energy costs, decreasing grid reliability, and kneecapping economic competitiveness is really the real danger here that we have to avoid. Thanks again to Administrator Zeldin and President Trump for recognizing America’s energy excellence. I encourage North Dakotans and Americans, but I really want North Dakotans to make their voices heard throughout the public comment period as they draft new rules”.

The EPA’s proposed repeal follows several court rulings that struck down previous rulemaking based on this finding; Congress has also not specifically authorized these regulations.

Trends over recent years show that U.S. annual carbon dioxide emissions—and per capita emissions—have declined even without binding federal rules targeting greenhouse gases from power generation or other sectors. Projections indicate that by 2050, U.S. power generation will account for less than one-fifth of one percent of global CO2 contributions.