Topeka ? Regional power companies in Kansas and the Midwest are expressing concern about proposed new EPA regulations aimed at increasing the amount of electricity produced from renewable resources in the United States.

But one state representative in Kansas went a step further Friday, saying the EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan is based on faulty science and denying that carbon dioxide emissions contribute to global climate change.

Rep. Dennis Hedke

“For the EPA or any other entity to claim that carbon dioxide is a pollutant is an absolute misstatement of fact, because it is not a pollutant,” said Rep. Dennis Hedke, R-Wichita. “So we are trying to control something that we believe may have some impact on global temperature. That is not resolved.”

Hedke serves on the Kansas Electric Transmission Authority, an agency established in 2005 to plan for and ensure a reliable power grid in Kansas. That group met Friday to review a report about the impact that the EPA’s Clean Power Program would have on the regional power grid known as the Southwest Power Pool, which serves Kansas and several surrounding states.

The EPA’s proposal would involve adopting state-specific plans to cut carbon dioxide emissions from power plants by 30 percent by 2030. States would have to begin showing measurable reductions by 2020.

The Southwest Power Pool report did not criticize the science of climate change. But it did say the EPA’s proposed timeline is too short and could force some states to decommission coal-fired power plants before they have time to develop other alternatives.

Unless EPA modifies the program, the report said, “the SPP region faces serious, detrimental impacts on reliable operations of the bulk electric system — introducing the very real possibility of rolling blackouts or cascading outages that will have significant impacts on human health, public safety, and economic activity.”

Hedke, a geophysicist who does consulting work for the oil and gas industry, has previously sponsored legislation to prohibit local governments from spending public funds on sustainable development. And he has supported legislation to repeal Kansas’ renewable portfolio standards, which require power companies to produce 20 percent of their peak demand capacity each year from renewable sources.

Hedke proposed sending written comments to the EPA outlining concerns of the industry, as well as his concerns about the science behind the theory of climate change.

State Sen. Marci Francisco

Sen. Marci Francisco, D-Lawrence, said she agreed with some of the power pool’s concerns about impacts the Clean Power Plan might have on the reliability of the regional power grid. But she did not agree with Hedke’s arguments about the science of climate change.

“I would like to see that we are recognizing the importance of cutting the carbon emissions and saying we understand the goal. We’re just looking at how to meet it,” Francisco said.

KETA chairman Ernie Lehman, president and general manager of Midwest Energy Inc., said he was concerned about the polarization of opinion about the proposed new rules. After attending several meetings on the issue, he said he was struck by the fact that inside the utility industry, there is almost unanimous concern about the cost and impact of the rules, but outside the industry there is almost universal support.

“It’s very scary to me to see this dichotomy getting into the utility industry that we’ve seen other aspects of our nation’s governance where everything is becoming politicized and people are crossing boundaries in pursuit of their very well-intentioned goals,” Lehman said. “I’m just very worried about the path we’re on.”

The committee eventually agreed to send a letter to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy expressing concerns about the timeline contained in the proposed rules and the impact that could have on system reliability. But the letter will not include criticism of the science of climate change.

The public comment period on the proposed new rules has closed, but KETA officials said they believe additional information submitted after the deadline will still become part of the public record.

EPA expects to finalize the new rules in June 2015.