CHARLESTON – Attorney General Patrick Morrisey applauded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to hold a public hearing in Charleston on its proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan.
The EPA announced the location Nov. 2.
The two-day hearing will take place Nov. 28 and 29 in Charleston. It will begin at 9 a.m. and conclude at 5 p.m. each day.
Those wishing to speak are encouraged to register in advance.
“I strongly support the EPA’s decision to repeal this devastating and job-killing rule,” Morrisey said. “Our office has been a leader in fighting against the Obama-era Power Plan.”
Morrisey said he’s glad the EPA selected Charleston as the setting for this crucial hearing, where its leaders will be able to hear from those directly impacted by what he calls an unlawful regulation.
The EPA proposed repealing the power plan last month, a move celebrated as a major victory in West Virginia’s fight against the Obama-era regulation that would have devastated coal communities across the state and nation.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March that initiated his administration’s review of the power plan.
Morrisey attended that ceremony as his office has taken the lead on many achievements that paved the way for the impending repeal.
Morrisey challenged the power plan on the day it was published and lead the states’ legal efforts all the way to the Supreme Court’s historic and unprecedented stay of the regulation in February 2016 and beyond.
Together, those victories blocked enforcement of the power plan and provided time for a new administration.
Morrisey has long argued the Obama EPA overstepped its authority by transforming the nation’s energy industry, double regulating fossil-fired power plants and forcing states to fundamentally shift their energy portfolios away from coal-fired generation.
The EPA announced pre-registration for those wishing to make an oral presentation will begin once notice of the hearing is published in the Federal Register and will close on Nov. 16.