FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS ADVISORY
December 15, 2016
For More Information, contact:
Luther Strange
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Alabama Attorney General
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Page 1 of 2
ATTORNEY GENERAL STRANGE, 24-STATE COALITION OFFER PLAN FOR
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO HALT OBAMA CLEAN POWER PLAN
(MONTGOMERY) – Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange joined a 24-state
coalition urging President-elect Donald Trump and congressional leaders to withdraw
President Obama’s so-called Clean Power Plan and take the necessary steps to prevent
similar or more extreme measures in the future.
“Conservative Attorneys General continue to play an important role in reversing
unlawful federal mandates by challenging them in court and working with the
incoming Trump administration to stop them at the source,” said Attorney General
Strange. “We are committed to working with the new administration and Congress in
uprooting unlawful rulemaking which has had an adverse effect on States and our
economy.”
The bipartisan letter – addressed Wednesday to Vice President-elect Mike Pence, Senate
President Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan – suggests a four-point
strategy that begins with President-elect Trump rescinding his predecessor’s Climate
Action Plan on day one.
The coalition suggests President-elect Trump follow with formal administrative action
to withdraw the Clean Power Plan and related matters in court. Such action will
properly effectuate the rule’s withdrawal, while negotiating an end to pending
litigation.
Finally, the coalition recommends Congress take longer-term legislative action. The
proposed legislative fix aims to prevent any future U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency from drafting similarly unlawful and/or more extreme rules. The coalition
suggests the new White House work with Congress to adopt such legislation.
Alabama joined a 27-state coalition led by Texas and West Virginia challenging the
EPA’s Clean Power Plan on October 23, 2015, the very day it was published. That
coalition then halted the rule’s enforcement by winning an unprecedented and historic
stay of the regulation February 9, 2016, before the U.S. Supreme Court.
501 Washington Avenue * Montgomery, AL 36104 * (334) 242-7300
www.ago.alabama.gov Page 2 of 2
The legal challenge argues the Clean Power Plan exceeded EPA’s congressional
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.
Furthermore, it argues the Clean Power Plan violates the U.S. Constitution by
attempting to commandeer and coerce the states into carrying out federal energy policy.
Those challenging the regulation in West Virginia v. EPA await a final ruling by the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The court heard oral arguments
September 27, 2016.
Alabama signed the letter with West Virginia, Texas, Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado,
Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana,
Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin and
Wyoming, along with the Mississippi and North Carolina Departments of
Environmental Quality.
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A copy of the state coalition letter can be read at http://bit.ly/2htHSQ3
