Sinema detailed how recent rulemakings could harm Arizona’s growth in clean energy and advanced manufacturing
WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema questioned U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan about the agency’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget request – emphasizing how some recent EPA rulemakings stand to have outsized impacts on Arizona’s ability to grow and thrive. The Senator underscored the need to prioritize resources to support Arizona’s healthy environment and clean energy economy.
“A slate of the EPA’s recent rulemakings stand to have enormous impacts on the prosperity of Arizona. We’re fighting to secure the support and resources needed to protect Arizona’s healthy environment and ensure we remain on the forefront of the clean energy economy,” said Sinema.
Sinema expressed how the issue of ozone nonattainment in Maricopa County is significant, and could hamper clean energy and advanced manufacturing investments. Maricopa County’s proposed Rules 204 and 205 would create a bank of emissions reductions credits that currently does not exist, though the process to get these rules approved has been extremely arduous. As the EPA has recently taken steps towards final approval of 205, the Senator asked Administrator Regan for an update on how the Agency plans to work with the County throughout the process to ensure a timely final approval.
The Senator spoke to the importance of maintaining grid stability throughout the year – particularly in the summer months – in states like Arizona, where power outages can have life-threatening consequences for vulnerable and underserved populations. Sinema asked what the impacts of the Agency’s recently finalized “power plant rule” will be on Arizona’s grid stability and affordability.
Sinema worked closely with the EPA to implement the historic investments from her bipartisan infrastructure law – such as addressing PFAS contamination, a major ongoing issue in Tucson – and the historic climate and energy law.
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