La. agency: New rules expand EPA’s scope

BATON ROUGE, la. (AP) — The state environmental agency says a proposed federal rule to reduce carbon dioxide releases from power plants exceeds the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's authority, will put electrical grids at risk and is unfair in how it would be applied to states.

The Advocate reports the state Department of Environmental Quality submitted its more extensive comments, elaborating on many of the concerns the agency expressed in a September letter to the EPA.

Known as the Clean Power Plan, the proposed rule is part of a larger Climate Action Plan put forward by President Barack Obama.

DEQ says one of the big problems with the rule is that simply regulating the current industrial practice at power plants isn't enough to meet the carbon dioxide reduction goal for the state.