In what “just may be the biggest environmental case to reach the Supreme Court in years”, the Coalition for Responsible Regulation v. EPA will reach the courts on September 30. The coalition is challenging the EPA’s greenhouse gas regulations under the Clean Air Act.

Colorado_Supreme_Court_courtroom

The act regulates carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles, and was first challenged by the state of Massachusetts (and other states and cities) in 2007, and subsequently upheld. Since then, the EPA added more rules and regulations, including emissions standards for cars and trucks, stating that greenhouse gases are dangerous and contribute to climate change. In a controversial decision, the EPA also included “emitting facilities,” adding additional rules that could lead to great economic challenges to those forced to comply.

Following many petitions and challenges, the issue will be revisited this month, with many anxiously awaiting the decision.

While we are in no way opposed to a clean environment—in fact, just the opposite—we are opposed to over-regulation. With these rules we believe they are trying to regulate issues that are not currently possible.  The regulations included in this act are many steps beyond working toward a cleaner environment, and make it extremely costly for the industry. As a result, many current plants will be forced to shut down, which will put Americans out of work while also raising the future cost of electricity for everyone.

We hope that the court’s decision is the right one for the industry and the American people.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *