MEC filed its brief on April 25; it follows a June 29 Supreme Court decision in favor of MEC that said the EPA illegally promulgated its rule, as well as a new supplemental finding by the EPA this week.
“Unfortunately, [the June 29] ruling came far too late, as the Obama administration forced compliance with the Utility MACT Rule years before we were able to defeat this illegal rule in court,” the company said. “By the time that the rule was heard at the Supreme Court level, the plants were already closed, and we were denied our constitutional right of due process.”
Murray, calling it a “tragedy for America,” added that the Obama administration has since attempted to follow the same path with the Clean Power Plan. A nationwide stay came from that Supreme Court case.
The new finding, the operator said, has been released only as an attempt to justify the rule.
“There is no doubt, however, that the Obama EPA is unable to justify the illegal Utility MACT Rule through any analysis that actually weighs the costs against the benefits, which is why they never did any such analysis in the first place,” MEC said. “This final ‘finding’ is flagrantly arbitrary, and fails to comply with the law and with the Supreme Court’s mandate.”
While the EPA has said emission regulations are both appropriate and needed, the industry — led at many turns by MEC and its founder, Robert Murray — has argued that the costs of such outlines have not been considered.
“The Obama EPA’s recent actions here are a vain attempt to ‘justify the unjustifiable,’ with a last-ditch ‘finding’ in an effort to save the Utility MACT Rule. Murray Energy today has, once again, sued the radical Obama EPA and we will, once again, prevail.”
The finding now opens up a 60-day judicial period for petitions to be filed. Opponents to the EPA’s supplemental findings have until June 24 to submit comments.
