WV Coal Association Statement Concerning DC Circuit Court’s Ruling Vacating the Affordable Clean Energy Rule

Charleston, W.Va. - - Chris Hamilton, President of the West Virginia Coal Association, offers the following statement regarding the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit) ruling vacating the Affordable Clean Energy Rule and remanding it back to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for further consideration:

“On Tuesday, Jan. 19, the D.C. Circuit rejected arguments by the EPA and effectively vacated the agencies Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) Rule regulating greenhouse gases from coal fired electric utilities. 

The ACE rule was finalized in June 2019 to replace the Obama EPA Rule requiring coal-fired plants to employ technologies and system not commercially feasible.  This is terrible news for our nation’s and West Virginia’s electric generating plants who must now consider a third set of comprehensive proposed rules governing airborne particulate matter and greenhouse gas emissions. 

Governor Justice, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, our state’s power industry, and state policy makers have expended significant resources to bring state power facilities into early compliance in order to accelerate state compliance and West Virginia’s continued leadership in air quality achievement. 

The DC Circuit’s decision upheaved EPA’s ACE rule based on inadequate findings that demonstrate that EPA had adequate authority to issue a replacement rule for the previous air quality rule.  The decision will likely be appealed to the United State Supreme Court.”

For additional information, contact Chris Hamilton at (304) 342-4153.