Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, along with 19 other Republican governors, penned a letter to President Barack Obama Friday contending that regulations on greehouse gases and power plants being pursued by the Environmental Protection Agency  could hamper economic growth and affect the country’s long-term prosperity.
“We believe the EPA’s proposed rules harm domestic energy production and are hostile to the administration’s stated goals of creating jobs, improving the regulatory process, and increasing our nation’s energy security,” the letter reads.
The governors include federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions and proposed requirements for power plants on a list of “new regulations and policy uncertainties” they say will increase costs to consumers and hurt U.S. manufacturers.
The letter isn't the state's first run-in with the EPA. Earlier this week, Douglas Domenech, Virginia’s secretary of natural resources, went to Capitol Hill to question the legality of the EPA’s plan to restore the Chesapeake Bay, according to the Daily Press.
The McDonnell administration has criticized the EPA’s efforts on the bay, but had finally come to an agreement with the agency after a contentious process requiring all seven Chesapeake Bay jurisdictions to submit plans for reducing pollution over the next few years.