WASHINGTON, DC – Building upon the committee’s efforts to protect jobs and ensure grid reliability, the House of Representatives voted today to pass H.R. 3797, the Satisfying Energy Needs and Saving the Environment (SENSE) Act, by a vote of 231 to 183. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Keith Rothfus (R-PA), would ensure that environmentally beneficial coal refuse-to-energy facilities, currently threatened by EPA rules, continue to operate.

Coal refuse-to-energy facilities have been developed to help clean up communities and recycle coal refuse by using it as an energy source to generate affordable and reliable electricity. Currently there are 19 coal refuse-to-energy facilities located throughout the United States but two EPA rules containing emissions limits threaten these facilities and their communities.  

For a fact sheet on H.R. 3797, click here.

Watch Rep. Keith Rothfus speak on behalf of his bill online HERE.

Watch Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY) speak in support of H.R. 3797 online HERE.

Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) concluded, “Through American ingenuity, coal refuse-to-energy plants have been developed that actually use this harmful waste product to generate electricity. Unfortunately, there are two EPA rules targeting all coal-fired power plants that are causing some problems. The SENSE Act would allow these coal refuse-to-energy plants to continue operating, to the great benefit to the communities where these facilities are located.”

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