State Senator Petersen Speaks at Climate Change Press Conference

FROM THE OFFICE OF STATE SENATOR PATERSEN

March 2, 2010

CONTACT: Julia Kim
804-698-7534

Richmond, Virginia - March 2, 2010 - On Tuesday, Sen. Chap Petersen (D-34) among seventeen legislators from the Virginia General Assembly spoke at a press conference at the state Capitol opposing Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's suit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's official position on carbon emissions.

Members of the delegation at the press conference voiced their concerns about the Cuccinelli's fiscal irresponsibility in attempting to challenge "settled law" from the 2007 lawsuit, Massachusetts v. EPA, where the U.S. Supreme Court already declared that greenhouse gas emissions were, in fact, hazardous to public health or welfare. It then became the EPA's responsibility to "make reasonable efforts to reduce greenhouse gas pollutants under the Clean Air Act." Litigating Cuccinelli's suit has been estimated to cost Virginia taxpayers between $250,000 and $500,000.

"Imagine what we could do with that money. That's maybe 10 teachers or 10 policemen for a year," said Sen. A. Donald McEachin (D-9).

McEachin has requested that the Attorney General's office furnish a fiscal impact statement verifying the amount of taxpayer money that Cuccinelli will spend in his dispute with the EPA that was described as "taking a knife to an intellectual gun fight" by Del. Albert Pollard (D-99).

Petersen, who is a Senate representative on the State Commission on the Energy and the Environment, has stated that the Virginia Climate Change Commission had also reached a bipartisan consensus in 2007 that reducing carbon emissions and promoting alternative energy was a critical step for Virginia, especially due to its unique nature as a coastal state.

"The Assembly has recognized climate change as a major state issue and has adopted an Energy Plan that recognizes that fact. It is totally useless and counterproductive to spend time and money now fighting the Federal government on an issue in which we agreed with them just 60 days ago," said Petersen.

Senator Chap Petersen represents Virginia's 34th State Senate district, which includes Fairfax City and much of Fairfax County. He is member of the Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee.

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