LOUISVILLE, KY. - On the heels of receiving an inaugural "Undisputed Champion of Coal" award from an industry-backed pro-coal group, President Trump has announced $175 million in taxpayer-funded handouts to seven coal plants, including LG&E and KU's Ghent Generating Station. The money, originally intended to support energy resiliency, efficiency, and greenhouse gas reductions in rural communities, will now instead subsidize new, expensive equipment on the Ghent plant, a move that Sierra Club has already previously opposed.

In addition to the coal handouts, the Trump administration has announced plans to institute a string of environmental roll-backs amounting to a brazen assault on the health and welfare of the American public. The Trump administration announced it will finalize its rule revoking the Environmental Protection Agency's longstanding greenhouse gas endangerment findingunder the federal Clean Air Act and rollback several other rules that keep Americans safe and healthy, including MATS standards, clean vehicle standards, and monument protections.

"Trump's actions today deserve the title of unaffordable energy and deadly pollution champion," said Julia Finch, Sierra Club Kentucky Chapter Director. "Despite renewable energy's proven affordability and promise of good jobs, Trump would rather further tie our communities to coal that is simply no longer the safest or cost efficient option. We at Sierra Club Kentucky refuse to let Trump's deadly and dangerous assault succeed. It's our shared moral obligation to ensure future generations have access to a livable planet, along with breathable air and family-sustaining jobs. We are staying in the fight."

"More handouts to Trump's coal industry buddies will hike up our energy bills and make our communities sicker," said Elisa Owen, Kentucky's Beyond Coal Campaign Senior Organizer."In order to make bills affordable, attract industrial investment, and secure good jobs for our families and neighbors, Kentucky must onboard more low-cost, renewable energy. Just this month, Bluegrass workers lost out on thousands of jobs tied to a new aluminum smelter now set for construction in Oklahoma, a state with much lower energy costs thanks to cheaper clean energy. What else will our state lose out on because of our leaders' corporate allegiance?"

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit https://www.sierraclub.org.