Jay Inslee’s extreme “green” agenda has taken another hit. His Department of Ecology, perhaps realizing how badly the initial draft of a new regulatory rule would harm our state’s economy, has withdrawn the mis-named “Clean Air Rule” that would have allowed Inslee to his executive authority to jam through a carbon cap in our state.
Under the original regulation that Inslee desperately wanted to show how much he cares about the environment (if not the taxpayers of the state), the industries deemed as “large emitters” (including manufacturers like Boeing) would have been required to reduce carbon emissions by 5 percent every three years.
According to a news release, Ecology confirmed it was withdrawing the proposal “after receiving feedback and criticism on the proposed rule from affected industries and other stakeholders.”
Todd Myers of the Washington Policy Center referred to the plan as the “most backward approach to this issue that can be imagined.” Myers stated, “Assuming you want to reduce carbon, regulation is the least rationale and most expensive way to do it.”
The problem, according to Myers, was that the Inslee rule would reward companies for suspending operations in Washington State and selling their carbon credits. “[Ecology’s] plan actually pays for taking jobs overseas, but punishes for keeping jobs here. If you stay, your costs go up,” he said.
But, the withdrawal unfortunately doesn’t mean the end of Inslee’s bad idea altogether. Via the Seattle Times,
“The agency plans to make updates and release a revised proposal for public comment this spring, with final adoption targeted for late summer…
“Ecology now plans revisions include clarifying how firms can comply with any emissions rule and considerations for manufacturers whose products face global competition, the agency said in a news release.”
In an odd attempt to cover-up the embarrassing setback to our green governor’s extreme agenda, Inslee spokeswoman Jaime Smith claimed he would “rather see the rule done right than done quickly.”
That’s an interesting – and false – spin on this failure, considering the rush order Inslee placed on Ecology to deliver this rule. We seem to remember a time when Inslee pressured Ecology officials to produce a rule without any real regard to the actual consequences.
As Shift reported at the time, Inslee’s aggressive timeline revealed he was more concerned with his “legacy” as our nation’s greenest governor than with getting even his extreme “green” agenda right.
Stay tuned for further embarrassments as Inslee continues down his all-green-all-the-time track.
