DENVER (KDVR) — Gov. Jared Polis reacted on Thursday to a proposal by the Environmental Protection Agency to repeal all greenhouse gas emission standards for fossil fuel-fired power plants.

Polis, in response, said proposing to “gut air quality standards” for power plants in the country risks the nation’s air quality and slows progress “in the transition to clean energy.”

“While the Administration’s proposal is disappointing, I am unfortunately not surprised to see the President slash through standards that protect our clean air from reckless polluters and force ratepayers to pay more for high priced legacy coal power,” Polis said in a statement.

The EPA on Wednesday proposed that the Clean Air Act make a finding that greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants do not contribute significantly to dangerous air pollution.

The agency further proposed that the Clean Air Act find that the EPA must find greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants contribute signifcantly to dangerous air pollution, as a predicate to regulating greenhouse gas emissions from those plants.

Polis said Colorado still plans to “phase out” coal power and maintained protecting air quality is “critical for the health of our communities and kids.”

“Colorado will stay the course and move towards more affordable, resilient, and lower cost energy. We are a leader in air quality protection and investment in the innovative clean energy solutions of the future,” Polis said.

The EPA, as an alternative, proposed to repeal a “narrower” set of requirements that includes emission guidelines for existing fossil fuel-fired steam generating units, the carbon capture and sequestration/storage-based standards for coal-fired steam generating units undertaking a large modication and the CCS-based standards for new base load stationary combustion turbines.