Charleston, W.Va. – A nineteen-state coalition of State Attorneys General led by West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has successfully petitioned the United States Supreme Court to decide whether the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the authority to regulate carbon emissions under the Clean Air Act.
The coalition’s appeal follows a January decision of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit striking down the Trump EPA “Affordable Clean Energy Rule” and petitions the U.S. Supreme Court to consider the legal foundation and limits of EPA’s underlying authority.
Chris Hamilton, President and CEO of the West Virginia Coal Association, said, “We are very appreciative of General Morrisey’s efforts as he works tirelessly to champion causes which directly impact West Virginia jobs and our economy.”
We are witnessing a variation of the Green New Deal playing out before us in our nations’ Capitol and U.S. Senators Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito are working tirelessly to defend the energy industries that employ tens of thousands of West Virginians and support our state’s entire economy.
The egregious amendments insisted by President Biden and Congressional Leaders Schumer and Pelosi with help from their supporting cast of Senator Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and others in the ongoing Budget Reconciliation package debate are in reality “the Green New Deal”. Their proposals feature a Clean Energy Standard which imposes an 80 percent carbon reduction by 2030 and a Clean Energy Payment Program (or utility buy-out plan) which rewards electric utilities for annual carbon reductions and penalizes them when they fall short, as well as endless and expansive incentives for wind and solar energy production.
