Supporting Colstrip, Tester Calls on Senate Appropriations Committee to Implement Bipartisan Fix to New Power Plant Emissions Rule

Senator: “Rules made in Washington DC need to be rooted in reality and common sense. And what I’ve heard from the folks of my state is that the MATS rule simply makes no sense under these circumstances.”

Speaking to his colleagues on the Senate Appropriations Committee today, U.S. Senator Jon Tester raised concerns he has heard from Montanans about the Biden Administration’s new Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rule for power plant emissions and called for a bipartisan fix in order to support Colstrip power plant.

Tester began his remarks to the Committee by criticizing the MATS rule for unfairly targeting Colstrip: “I want to raise an issue in front of this committee right now that directly affects Montana and directly affects the country. It’s about the Administration’s recent EPA MATS rule. And this isn’t about whether you like the MATS rule or don’t like the MATS rule. This is about EPA’s acknowledgement that one of the only power plants this affects is in Colstrip, Montana. This isn’t the way we should be making rules.”

Tester told his colleagues that he has made it clear to President Biden and the Administration that this one-size-fits-all rule simply won’t work for Montana: “The investment that would be required to update the controls to meet this rule would be hundreds of millions of dollars. Without the investment, the plant would be required to shut down by 2028. I have made it clear both to the President and Administrator Regan that it is not acceptable that the federal government issue a rule that targets retiring this plant without providing a reasonable timeline to replace the jobs and the energy production lost.”

Additionally, Tester stressed that he has heard directly from Montanans who have expressed concerns with the MATS rule: “Everybody knows that in my real life, I’m a farmer. Clean air and clean water are critical to me to be able to raise a crop. And it’s also critical for everybody in this country. Clean air and clean water is critical for our health and for our economy. But rules made in Washington DC need to be rooted in reality and common sense. And what I’ve heard from the folks of my state is that the MATS rule simply makes no sense under these circumstances – and I agree.”

Tester concluded: “I look forward to finding a bipartisan path forward that resolves this issue while maintaining our clean air and clean water. That’s the way we work in Montana, and that’s the way we should work in the United States Senate.”

Tester has repeatedly expressed to the Biden Administration and EPA Administrator Regan that the MATS rule does not work for Montana. In May, Tester sent a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan following up on concerns he has heard directly from Montanans about the MATS rule that could result in the early closure of Colstrip Power Plant. Additionally, Tester pressed Administrator Regan on concerns regarding the MATS rule during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing and received a commitment that they would communicate directly to work on additional flexibilities to the rule. 

In January, Tester led a letter to the EPA raising initial concerns regarding the agency’s impending power plant emissions rules and urged the Administration to work with labor and industry on a final rule that would reduce emissions without raising costs for Montanans.