FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS RELEASE
December 17, 2013
For More Information, contact:
Luther Strange
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Alabama Attorney General
Claire Haynes (334) 242-7351
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AG STRANGE URGES U.S. SUPREME COURT TO REVIEW
LAWSUIT CHALLENGING THE EPA’s ABILITY TO VETO
PERMITS
(MONTGOMERY) – Attorney General Luther Strange today announced that his
office has joined the West Virginia Attorney General and a bipartisan group of 25 other
states in an amicus, or friend of the court, brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review
the Environmental Protection Agency’ retroactive veto of a Clean Water Act permit.
“At its core, this lawsuit is about saving and protecting jobs and ensuring public
or private projects do not get halted midway by a federal agency that changed its
mind,” Attorney General Strange said. “This case is about states being able to engage
and promote economic development, highway construction and other needed
investments without fearing a federal agency will step in years later and halt the
project. That is why we strongly support Mingo Logan Coal Co.’s appeal to the U.S.
Supreme Court.”
West Virginia was the lead author of the bipartisan brief which was signed by
attorneys general representing Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida,
Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana,
Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota,
Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
“Alabama has a history of standing up to the EPA’s overreaching regulations
that would destroy our economic environment under the guise of protecting our
natural resources,” Attorney General Strange said. “I am proud to stand with West
Virginia and the other states that joined this brief saying the EPA went too far in this
matter.”
The states’ brief says the EPA’s decision to gut an already-issued permit has
sweeping nationwide consequences for state and local governments. Of the 13 permits
vetoed by the EPA since the Clean Water Act was implemented, more than half have
been public works projects, such as flood prevention and water supply ventures. The
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states say if the EPA’s unlimited veto power is upheld, any public work project that has
to receive a 404 permit would be subject to unending uncertainty. The states also argue
the EPA could use its newly expanded authority to encroach upon other powers
granted to the states in the Clean Water Act.
“The EPA’s unlimited veto power would have unprecedented consequences on
Alabama’s continuing economic recovery by enabling the EPA to stop important public
works projects even when all of the conditions and terms of the permit have been met
and the projects are substantially underway,” Attorney General Strange said.
The states’ brief argues the EPA exceeded its authority under subsection 404(c) of
the Clean Water Act when it effectively vetoed a permit (known as a 404 permit) issued
by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a coal mine in West Virginia. The coal
company sued the EPA, and in 2012, a federal district judge sided with the company.
The EPA appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, which
earlier this year threw out the lower court’s ruling. The company is now seeking to have
its appeal heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.
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501 Washington Avenue * Montgomery, AL 36104 * (334) 242-7300
www.ago.state.al.us
