CHARLESTON — West Virginia's Patrick Morrisey and other state attorneys general are calling the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed new rule on car tailpipes as “unlawful and misguided,” and is urging the agency to reconsider.
Morrisey also calls the proposal, which aims to boost certain electric vehicle sales from 8.4% of total vehicle sales today to 67% by 2032, "draconian."
“This proposed rule is legally flawed and unrealistic, to say the least,” Morrisey said. “This would have devastating effects in the daily lives of consumers – many of whom are already suffering from the burdens of historically high inflation.
Morrisey
"This is an attack on rural America and rural Americans who are working really hard to make ends meet who are going to get bludgeoned by this rule.”
Morrisey and Kentucky AG Daniel Cameron are co-leading a coalition of 25 states in a comment letter to the EPA, telling the agency Congress did not give the EPA the power to attempt a top-to-bottom restructuring of the automobile industry.
The proposed rule — Multi-Pollutant Emissions Standards for Model Years 2027 and Later Light-Duty and Medium-Duty Vehicles — announced April 12, accelerates the nation’s transition to zero-emission vehicles, mandating the Biden administration’s aggressive climate agenda.
“We will always look after the financial wellbeing of consumers, many of whom are dealing with this challenging economy,” Morrisey said. “And this comes in a time when the Biden administration is plotting on destroying whatever is left with our energy production through regulations that would effectively shut down coal- and gas-fired power plants — the backbone of the nation’s power generation."
In its letter, the coalition says inflation is a major problem
“All of this comes at a time of record inflation, historic gasoline prices, and high utility bills," the coalition wrote. "Since President Biden took office, food prices are up over 18%, and energy prices are up over 37%."
It says home prices also have also increased by more than 27 percent since Biden took office. Morrisey says many West Virginia and national consumers won't be able to afford EVs even if they want them — the average EV sold for $61,448 at the end of 2022.
The coalition is urging the EPA to instead 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 have settled this issue in last year’s U.S. Supreme Court 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,” Morrisey said.
Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming joined West Virginia and Kentucky in the letter.