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On Wednesday, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced that he is leading a bipartisan coalition of nine state Attorneys General in a lawsuit challenging the new “Waters of the United States” – rule from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and EPA that unlawfully expands the federal government’s regulatory reach over small streams, land and farms. You’ll often see this rule referred to by its acronym, “WOTUS” and it would extend the EPA and Corps of Engineers’ regulatory jurisdiction to an untold number of small bodies of water, including roadside ditches and short-lived streams or any other area where the agencies believe water may flow once every 100 years.
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CHARLESTON – The June 29th decision of the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the EPA’s Mercury Rule is a major win for the coal industry and for American consumers. The ruling affirms what we have argued from the beginning – the EPA’s actions under this rule and others were made without regard to economic consequences and were specifically designed to remove coal from the nation’s energy mix.
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High Court Curbs EPA's Power to Regulate Emissions
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday nixed the EPA's landmark rule limiting mercury and other emissions from power plants, saying it should have considered the rule's multi-billion-dollar compliance costs first.
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“A Clear Win for the People of West Virginia and Coal Miners Everywhere”
CHARLESTON - Today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the EPA’s Mercury Rule is a major win for the coal industry and for American consumers. The ruling affirms what we have argued from the beginning – the EPA’s actions under this rule and others was made without regard to economic consequences and were specifically designed to remove coal from the nation’s energy mix.
"The West Virginia coal industry, its employees and the entire State of West Virginia have been particularly hard-hit by the impacts of EPA’s regulation which have spurred a massive closure of coal-fired power plants across the country," said Bill Raney, president of the West Virginia Coal Association. "Today’s decision is an important first step in reigning in a clearly out of control bureaucratic agency that intends to implement its vision for America’s future regardless of Congressional intent, cost to the consumer, risk to electricity reliability and impacts to the nation’s coal mining regions. We are still reviewing the decision and its implications, but I think it’s fair to say that the Supreme Court handed down a decision for common sense and affordable energy today."
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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released the final Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule on May 27 that, while incorporating important exclusions, contains potentially broad definitions that will expand jurisdiction, increasing permitting costs and delays. It also fails to provide the certainty promised by the administration, according to the National Mining Association (NMA).
In Congress, both the House and Senate are pushing back against the expanded WOTUS rule. A rider included in the House Interior and Environment Appropriations bill would prohibit the EPA from changing the definition of “navigable waters” and bar funding for the implementation of the WOTUS rule.
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a hearing May 19 on S. 1140, the Federal Water Quality Protection Act, introduced April 30 by Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyoming). S. 1140 passed the EPW Committee June 10, and awaits action on the Senate floor.
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