WASHINGTON, DC - Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), Energy and Power Subcommittee Chairman Ed Whitfield (R-KY), and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Tim Murphy (R-PA) today sent a letter to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy regarding EPA actions that could potentially undermine the stay issued by the Supreme Court on the Clean Power Plan.
“The rationale for this extraordinary action was to save the states and other stakeholders from taking actions, expending resources and incurring costs in response to a rule that may not be legal. Yet from the very first weeks following the order, EPA has been taking steps that circumvent the Court’s stay and potentially undermine the relief provided by the stay in the first place," write Upton, Whitfield, and Murphy.
Recently, EPA has been moving forward with new rulemakings relating to the implementation of the currently stayed rule. The members note, “To the extent EPA proceeds with any such actions to implement the stayed rule, it deprives states and other stakeholders the benefits of the stay by compelling participation in regulatory processes that inappropriately assume the validity of a rule that may ultimately be struck down."
In light of these recent developments, the members continue, “The agency’s decision to move forward with a shadow regulatory structure to implement the Clean Power Plan presents several obvious concerns. Continuing to develop a suite of derivative rules and guidance raises questions about whether EPA is complying fully with the Court’s stay order, about what legal authority the agency has to proceed with such actions, about how these actions affect the equities of states and stakeholders, as well as about the agency’s stewardship and use of taxpayer resources."
Related Items
* Upton & Whitfield Comment on Supreme Court’s Stay of Clean Power Plan
See Also
* Letter to EPA Administrator McCarthy on Agency's Defiance of the Supreme Court's Stay of the Clean Power Plan
