Pruitt, 11 Other States Sue EPA Over Carbon Propsals

Oklahoma, 11 Other States Sue EPA Over Proposed Carbon Regulations
States ask court to invalidate 2011 settlement agreement upon which new rule is based

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt said Oklahoma and a bipartisan group of 11 other states have filed a lawsuit asking a federal court to invalidate a 2011 settlement agreement in which the EPA promised to issue the now-pending rule to regulate existing power plants under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

“Our system doesn’t allow federal agencies to ‘improve’ or ‘fix’ laws to advance an agenda. But that is what happened here: the EPA made a promise in 2011 to expand its authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants.

Fortunately, the law doesn’t allow the agency to do what it wants. This lawsuit is about holding the EPA accountable to following the environmental statutes as passed by Congress. Oklahoma will continue to challenge the EPA – or any other federal agency – when it takes actions that undermine our system and the rule of law.”

The EPA promised in a 2011 settlement agreement to expand its authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions of existing power plants even though the Clean Air Act prohibits the agency from doing so.
Now, the EPA has issued a proposed rule based upon the promises made in that 2011 settlement agreement.

The lawsuit from the collection of states contends the 2011 settlement agreement is illegal because the law prohibits existing power plants from being regulated under section 111(d) since such power plants already are regulated under section 112(d) of the CAA. The lawsuit was filed in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The states that are a part of this lawsuit are Oklahoma, Alabama, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Wyoming and West Virginia.

Click here for a copy of the lawsuit.

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