Attorneys general from 15 states are suing in federal court to block sweeping carbon regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency.
“This rule is the most far-reaching energy regulation in the nation’s history, and the EPA simply does not have the legal authority to carry it out,” West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said in a statement Thursday. “With this rule, the EPA is attempting to transform itself from an environmental regulator to a central planning agency for states’ energy economies. The Clean Air Act was never intended to be used to create this type of regulatory regime, and it flies in the face of the powers granted to states under the U.S. Constitution.”
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy gestures during an announcement of a plan to cut carbon dioxide emissions from power plants by 30 percent by 2030, June 2, 2014, at EPA headquarters in Washington. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)
West Virginia is leading the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, along with Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Under the rules finalized earlier this month, the EPA will regulate the electricity industry and require states and utility companies to meet goals, providing rewards and penalties. Each state is required to present a plan to the federal government for compliance under the plan under the regulation. The final Clean Power Plan calls for reducing carbon emissions by 32 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. Obama called the regulation earlier this month, “the single most important step the U.S. has ever taken to fight climate change.”
“We sincerely hope that the Obama administration stops its gamesmanship and publishes the rule before the September 8 deadline so the states can challenge the rule on the merits,” Morrisey said. “If the administration drags its feet, at the expense of the states and their citizens, the courts should grant us relief from a burdensome situation created by EPA’s highly unusual approach here.”
The Obama administration has said it is confident about the legality of the regulations.
"To ensure that the Clean Power Plan's significant health benefits and progress against climate change are delivered to all Americans, EPA and the Department of Justice will vigorously defend it in court," EPA spokeswoman Liz Purchia told Reuters.
