Attorneys general from nine states have filed a brief in attempt to fight EPA regulations on carbon emissions from power plants. West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey (R) is leading the effort, along with attorneys general from Arizona, Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.
Representatives of the nine states say that the EPA did not have the authority to issue the regulations, according to The Hill. They want the Supreme Court to uphold a 2012 D.C. Court of Appeals ruling that said the Clean Air Act did not give the EPA the authority to force pollution cuts in 28 states.
The 2011 EPA regulations required a decrease in nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide emissions from power plants in 28 upwind states with emissions that are carried into downwind states. The new emissions standards were part of the Obama administration’s initiative to address air pollution, even before the president released his National Climate Action Plan this June.
Morrisey argues that the EPA regulations are “Just one more effort to slam the door on energy-producing states” and that regulating air pollution – which has recently been classified as a carcinogen – “is a blatant attempt to promote a reckless agenda.”
On Tuesday, Mother Jones released a map outlining which industries gave the most money to state-level campaign donors during the 2012 election. Montana, North Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming all received a majority of campaign donations from the energy industry last year.
Across the country, coal-producing states have been challenging EPA emissions standards. In September, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said that the Obama administration will regulate greenhouse gases and other air pollutants accordingly, even if it forces the energy industry to spend more money in order to comply with decreased emissions standards.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in the case on December 10 and should reach a decision by next summer. Environmental groups and the EPA saw the Supreme Court’s decision to take up the case as hopeful, in that it could reinstate regulations on pollutants that a D.C. Court of Appeals struck down last year, The Hill reports.
Via: Mother Jones: Which Companies Dominate Your State’s Politics?
Alisha is a writer and researcher with Ring of Fire. Follow her on Twitter @childoftheearth.
