LANSING – The proposed emission rules announced earlier this week by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would be more stringent on Michigan than other Midwestern states and changes should be made to the proposal, U.S. Rep. Gary Peters, the Democratic candidate for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat, said on Wednesday.

Peters made his comments two days after the proposed rules were released, and two days after his Republican opponent, former Secretary of State Terri Land, called on Peters to “oppose these regulations instead of selling out Michigan jobs for his radical environmental agenda.”

Three weeks ago, Land’s spokesperson told The Washington Post when asked if Land believed in climate change that “there should be a healthy and educated debate on the impact of human activity on our environment, but she does not agree with radical liberals like Tom Steyer and Congressman Peters on the extent of the effect of human behavior on our climate.” Democrats responding by labeling her a climate change denier.

On Wednesday, Land issued a statement charging that Peters was trying to have it both ways and “trying to claim he is concerned about regulations he voted to allow the EPA to impose.”

In her statement, Land also said “climate change is absolutely a reality,” a much stronger acknowledgement of climate change. But the proposed EPA rules, she said, are the wrong way to attack the issue.

Peters’ spokesperson, Haley Morris, and other Democrats tore into Land for the shift.

The proposed rules, which are now undergoing public comment, would require coal burning plants to reduce their emissions by 30 percent from where they stood in 2005 by 2030. Doing so would likely boost electrical generation costs, though by how much varies from different sources.

Supporters of the proposed rules have praised them as a way of fighting climate change. Opponents have said they will cost the nation jobs, especially in coal producing states, as well as make power more expensive.

Peters said that climate change presents a threat to the Great Lakes and to the state’s agricultural producers. Solving that issue also presents an economic opportunity to the state to develop clean energy, he said.

While reducing carbon emissions is essential, Peters said, “the proposed draft EPA rule imposes a more stringent standard on Michigan than surrounding Midwestern states.”

He said the rule should have a mid-review process to ensure that timelines are reasonable and that it matches more the process in place for improving vehicle mileage. Also, “the implementation process should be fixed so that it works for Michigan.”

But in her statement, Land charged that Peters voted for proposals in 2009 that would have cost the state 100,000 jobs and forced increases in energy costs.

Now, she said, Peters is complaining about proposals that he helped set in motion.

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