CHARLESTON — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey is praising a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to consider the state's challenge to a ruling by the appeals court that allowed the Environmental Protection Agency to have what he says is nearly unlimited authority that could devastate coal mining and increase energy costs.
The U.S. Supreme Court accepted the case October 29 for oral arguments. The petition was filed in April.
"This is a tremendous victory for West Virginia and our nation," Morrisey said. "We are extremely grateful for the Supreme Court’s willingness to hear our case. It indicates a significant portion of the court realizes the seriousness of this case and shares our concern that the D.C. Circuit granted EPA too much authority."
Morrisey is leading the 19-state coalition. He urged the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case in April, arguing that the appellate court ignored a 2016 stay.
"Given the insurmountable costs of President Biden’s proposals, our team is eager to present West Virginia’s case as to why the Supreme Court should define the reach of EPA’s authority once and for all," Morrisey said.
Morrisey's coalition has argued that the lower court made a mistake when using a small provision of federal law when it granted the EPA broad authority without congressional input the ability to unilaterally decarbonize virtually any sector of the economy.
Morrisey's petition argued that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit's decision violated the constitutional separation of powers.
It also argued that the lower court interpreted Section 111 of the Clean Air Act inappropriately, which authored the EPA to sidestep Congress and give it broad power to transform the nation's energy grid, forcing states to shift energy portfolios away from coal-fired plants.
West Virginia led the petition with support from attorneys general in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wyoming and the governor of Mississippi.