(The Center Square) – A federal appeals court ruled in Kentucky’s favor, saying the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency did not abide by established law in reviewing and rejecting the state’s plan to comply with Clean Air Act standards.
In the 41-page opinion, a three-judge panel from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the federal agency unfairly denied Kentucky’s plan for meeting the “Good Neighbor Provision” of the Clean Air Act by taking too long to rule on the state’s proposal and using different criteria in rejecting the plan than it initially provided to the state.
According to a release from Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman, the Sixth Circuit’s action is the first final ruling among the federal courts, as several states have filed similar suits against the EPA.
Kentucky submitted its plan in January 2019, saying that based on the criteria given, the state determined it did not need to further reduce ozone emissions to comply with the good neighbor standard using modeling from 2011 as instructed by federal officials. By law, the EPA had until July 2020 to rule but instead waited until February 2022 to issue its draft rule opposing the state’s plan, and officials used modeling from 2016 as their reason.
After the state objected to the proposed action, the EPA included Kentucky in a blanket rule that also rejected plans by 20 other states.
Had the EPA’s decision remained in effect, Coleman said it would have led to fewer jobs in the state as well as the possible closure of power plants that use coal to generate electricity. It also would have forced Kentuckians to pay more for utilities.
The state filed its lawsuit last year, with the EPA claiming it should be considered by federal judges in the District of Columbia, an argument the circuit judges also rejected.
The judges’ ruling vacates the EPA’s initial decision and calls for the agency to reconsider Kentucky’s initial proposal using the court’s guidelines.
“Today’s ruling is a warning to Washington bureaucrats: the era of foisting a radical green agenda on what they deem as ‘fly-over’ is officially ended,” Coleman said. “Kentucky is fully prepared to be good stewards of our air, land and water, and the EPA must respect our ability to do just that. We will continue our efforts to protect Kentucky’s affordable and reliable energy, encourage new growth and unleash American energy dominance.”
