Wayne Cropp , former director of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Air Pollution Control Bureau, stands with U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., during a news conference in front of the Volkswagen plant today.U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., today defended an EPA rule to require stricter pollution controls of coal plants, claiming the new requirements will be good for the environment and economy of Tennessee.
Despite a $400,000 television ad campaign in Tennessee urging Alexander to oppose the new EPA rules, the Tennessee Republican said he plans to vote against a measure by Senate Public Works Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe, R-Okla, to overturn EPA’s new Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) rules for coal plants.
Alexander said the Tennessee Valley Authority is already committed to meeting the standards “and we shouldn’t be punished for the dirty air that blows into our state” from other utilities that continue to burn coal without scrubbers or other control devices.
Alexander, who was Tennessee governor in 1980 when Nissan was recruited to the state, said the new EPA rules will help bring more manufacturers to the state by helping Tennessee clean up its air and meet federal air standards.
Standing in front of the $1 billion Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Alexander said he wants more VW suppliers to come to Chattanooga and more Nissan suppliers elsewhere in the state. He said that can only happen if such businesses are assured they won’t be in danger of pushing smog and other toxic air emissions above allowable limits.