FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS RELEASE
March 28, 2017
For More Information, contact:
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Steven T. Marshall
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Page 1 of 1
Alabama Attorney General
AG MARSHALL PRAISES TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDER
REGARDING EPA CLEAN POWER REGULATIONS
(MONTGOMERY) – Attorney General Steve Marshall praised an executive order
signed today by President Donald Trump to ease federal regulation by the
Environmental Protection Agency of power plant emissions, known as the Clean Power
Plan, that was put into place by the Obama administration.
“The so-called Clean Power Plan was an unlawful, job-killing extension of the
EPA’s authority under President Obama,” said Attorney General Marshall. “It was
stayed by the U.S. Supreme Court in a lawsuit filed by the State of Alabama and others,
and I am pleased that President Trump has ordered that it be reviewed.”
The Alabama Attorney General’s Office has been joined by numerous other
Attorneys General throughout the nation in opposing the regulations. They assert that
the Clean Power Plan exceeded the EPA’s congressional authority and violated the U.S.
Constitution by attempting to commandeer and coerce the states into carrying out
federal energy policy. They say that the EPA specifically overstepped its authority by
transforming the nation’s energy industry, double regulating coal-fired power plants
and forcing states to fundamentally shift their energy portfolios away from coal-fired
generation.
Attorney General Marshall urges Congress to take longer-term legislative action
to prevent any future EPA from drafting similarly unlawful and/or more extreme rules.
He said Congressional action is important to avoid the repetition of federal overreaches
such as those occurring under the Obama administration.
Earlier this month, Attorney General Marshall joined in a coalition of 19 states
calling on the EPA to adhere to the cooperative approach to regulating the environment
that the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act require, with the primary responsibility
reserved for state and local governments.
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501 Washington Avenue * Montgomery, AL 36104 * (334) 242-7300
www.ago.state.al.us
