JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – In an effort to enforce the laws as written, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey joined a 19-state coalition in a letter opposing the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed rule imposing substantial new environmental regulations on power plants and vehicles. The attorneys general argue the EPA’s plan will harm our economies, increase energy costs, and threaten the jobs of hardworking Americans in all sorts of industries.
“I will always enforce the laws as written, which includes ensuring that the federal government can’t promulgate a rule without utilizing the proper channels,” said Attorney General Bailey. “Unelected federal bureaucrats can’t just issue whatever rule they want in order to further their radical climate agenda. My office will always stand in the gap to ensure the federal administrative state can’t run roughshod over Missourians’ livelihoods.”
The Clean Air Act directs the EPA to propose air quality standards for certain pollutants to protect public health. In 2020, the EPA made a well-reasoned decision not to adjust the existing National Ambient Air Quality Standards. But after a 2021 executive order signed by President Biden, the EPA reconsidered its position and imposed onerous new regulations.
In their letter, the attorneys general argue that the proposed rule exceeds the EPA’s authority and is merely an attempt to advance President Biden’s radical climate goals. The coalition also contends that the EPA’s scientific evidence to support the policy change is insufficient.
The attorneys general explain that adopting the EPA’s overly burdensome regulations would inflict real harm on state economies. They write that this new policy may “require closing existing manufacturing and industrial facilities” and “such closures will affect not only those individual businesses but also the communities that are built around them.”
Joining Missouri in filing the brief are the attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia.
The letter can be read here: www.ago.mo.gov