CHARLESTON — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey is leading a group of 25 states calling on a federal appeals court to review the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s new rule on car tailpipes.
Morrisey calls the rule “unlawful” and “draconian” and is asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to “vacate the agency’s final action.” He says the rule aims to remake the automotive market, pushing certain electric vehicle sales from 8.4 percent of total vehicle sales today to 67 percent by 2032.
The 385-page petition was filed April 18. The AGs say they will show that the final EPA rule exceeds the agency’s statutory authority and otherwise is arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, and not in accordance with law. They ask the court to declare the rule unlawful and vacate the agency’s final action.
Morrisey
| Courtesy photo
“This rule is legally flawed and unrealistic, to say the least,” Morrisey said. “With the high prices of electric vehicles, this would have devastating effects in the daily lives of consumers — many of whom are already suffering from the burdens of historically high inflation.
“This is an attack on rural America and rural Americans who are working really hard to make ends meet — they are going to get bludgeoned by this rule.”
Morrisey argues Congress did not give the EPA the power to attempt a top-to-bottom restructuring of the automobile industry.
The rule is called the Multi-Pollutant Emissions Standards for Model Years 2027 and Later Light-Duty and Medium-Duty Vehicles. It accelerates the nation’s transition to zero-emission vehicles, mandating the Biden administration’s climate agenda.
In July last year, Morrisey co-led with Kentucky a coalition of 25 states in urging the EPA to adopt “feasible standards that maintain our nation’s air quality without risking consumer safety, economic stability and national security,” describing the proposal as “unlawful, unwise and unsustainable.”
“We will always look after the financial wellbeing of consumers, many of whom are dealing with this challenging economy,” Morrisey said. “We have settled this issue in the U.S. Supreme Court 2022 decision in West Virginia v. EPA, which specifically ruled the EPA must regulate within the express boundaries of the statute that Congress passed — the agency can’t regulate similar matters without explicit Congressional authorization.”
Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming joined the West Virginia- and Kentucky-led petition. Kentucky’s AG is Russell Coleman.
