Bennet, Hickenlooper, Whitehouse Force Vote on Senate Floor to Overturn EPA’s Disapproval of Colorado Regional Haze Plan

Apr 29, 2026 | Press Releases

Senate Republicans Vote to Back Trump's EPA, Undermine State's Rights

Washington, D.C. - Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet, John Hickenlooper, and Rhode Island U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, forced a vote on the Senate floor today on their Congressional Review Act (CRA) challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s disapproval of Colorado's Regional Haze Plan.

Senate Republicans, once again, supported the Trump Administration's EPA and voted to undermine state's rights and to reject the desires of local communities.

"Trump and his Administration have chosen to ignore economics and common sense, injecting politics into Colorado's energy transition," said Bennet. "This decision was not made with Coloradans in mind, but as part of Trump's plan to ensure that no federal regulations stand in the way of coal-fired power generation - regardless of the desires of local communities or the additional costs to Colorado families. Colorado needs Congress to fight back against this attack on our state's ability, and every state's ability, to protect public health, ensure low-cost energy, and keep our air clean.

"Colorado has consistently proven that we can bring together communities, utilities, and regulators to protect our clean air without hurting our economy," said Hickenlooper. "The EPA's reckless decision to overturn this plan will only raise energy costs for Coloradans and undermine our work to improve air quality."

The EPA's Regional Haze Program requires states to partner with the federal government to decrease visible haze over national parks and wilderness areas. In 2022, Colorado submitted a good-faith Regional Haze Plan to EPA to improve the state's air quality. This plan provided a range of solutions, including the voluntary, planned retirement of aging coal plants. The decisions to close these plants were driven by basic economics due to high maintenance and operation costs. Colorado incorporated those existing decisions into the state's strategy to reduce air pollution. This reflects the longstanding precedent for states and utilities to find cooperative solutions to meet air pollution standards at the state level.

In January, the EPA issued a full disapproval of Colorado's plan because the plan included the closure of those plants. This decision was made - as explicitly said by EPA Region 8 Administrator Cyrus Western - as part of the Trump Administration's efforts to ensure that no federal regulations stand in the way of coal-fired power generation, despite the cost burden to local communities.

EPA's disapproval makes it harder for Colorado to chart its own path on the energy transition, with Coloradans potentially paying tens of millions of extra dollars on their electricity bills to keep these outdated plants running. It will also easily open the door to similar challenges across the country, weakening air quality protections and leaving states in an impossible position and without the tools needed to meet air pollution limits.

The text of the resolution is available HERE.

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