Viewpoint: Trump’s coal bailout is toxic

Jim Morton

President Donald Trump recently signed a series of executive orders to prop up the declining coal industry — an attempt to resuscitate a fossil fuel sector that is no longer economically competitive. These orders directed EPA to weaken or bypass public health and environmental protections, most notably the EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS), updated just last spring.

Specifically, the President gave the Colstrip coal-fired power plant a two year delay for compliance with the MATS rule. In other words, the dirtiest coal plant in the nation just got special permission to continue spewing toxic pollutants into our air at the highest rate in the nation.

This is an attack on public health and economic common sense. The MATS rule exists for a reason: mercury, lead, arsenic, cadmium, and other toxic emissions from coal plants contribute to neurological damage in children, respiratory illness, and thousands of premature deaths in the U.S. every year. Allowing the Colstrip plant to dodge these standards means Montanans will continue to bear the health costs of living near one of the country’s worst toxic polluters. According to RMI, the Colstrip plant has contributed to $2.1 billion in adverse health impacts over the last decade, including 151 premature deaths.

But this decision doesn’t just harm peoples’ lungs… it hits our wallets, too. NorthWestern Energy, a monopoly utility, is being handed a free pass to keep charging its customers for one of the most expensive and outdated energy sources in the nation, even as cheaper, cleaner alternatives like wind and solar are readily available. The Colstrip plant is an unreliable money pit, and the ones who benefit most from keeping it alive are the corporate shareholders, not us ratepayers who have no choice but to foot the bill.

Let’s be clear: coal is no longer economically viable. Most new “power plants” built in the U.S. today are wind, solar, or batteries. These are cheaper to build, cheaper to operate, and don’t have the added price tag of pollution and poor health. A recent report shows that Colstrip can be replaced with cleaner, more affordable electricity and save its customers over $500 million dollars in the coming decades using existing tools in Montana law.

The market has evolved as technology has improved, but not NorthWestern Energy. Their only motive is short-term profit, and thanks to Trump, NorthWestern’s executives can make even more money, while we’re stuck paying for it. Montanans can’t afford this. We already suffer from the fourth-highest energy costs in the nation and the second-highest electricity rates in our region. Eighteen months ago, NorthWestern raised residential and small business rates by 28%.

Now, they’re back at the Public Service Commission asking for a 26% hike. Captive NorthWestern Energy customers shouldn’t be forced to choose between paying their power bills and covering other essential living expenses. In a time of looming economic uncertainty, why would we double down on the more expensive energy option that also harms public health?

This is a crossroads moment. We can either continue down a path that leads to higher costs, sicker communities, and outdated infrastructure, or we can join the rest of the country in investing in a clean energy future that brings down rates, creates jobs, and protects our health.

The people of Montana deserve better than to be stuck in the past. We are better served by moving away from the Colstrip coal-fired power plant and supporting the Colstrip community and the workers by creating jobs generating cleaner energy and restoring the land and water to their natural state.

Jim Morton was the long-time Executive Director of District XI Human Resource Council. Dr. Robert Merchant is a pulmonary physician in Billings Montana with more than 30 years of experience. Jim and Dr. Merchant both sit on the steering committee of Montanans for Affordable Energy.