The largest coal mining company in the country fired the first shot in filing suit against the Obama administration’s new rules for smog-forming ozone emissions this week.
Being first can be a lonely place, but a lawyer for Murray Energy Corp. tells the Washington Examiner it won’t be that way for too long. “We expect other parties to join in due course,” said Gary Broadbent, assistant counsel and Murray Energy spokesman.
The ozone rule has been called by a number of states, companies and lawmakers the most expensive Environmental Protection Agency rule in history. It was finalized Oct. 1 and published in the Federal Register Monday, which made it challengeable in federal appeals court.
Surprisingly, Murray was the only company to sue on day one. The EPA’s climate rules have taken some of the attention away from the ozone regulation, as more than half of the country leveled suits against the Clean Power Plan for power plants Friday, along with Murray and scores of other industry and labor groups.
Many of the companies that are suing over the climate regulations, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, led the charge against the ozone rules before they were finalized. The final rule provided some wiggle room but was a far cry from rescinding the ozone standards entirely, which is what businesses wanted. They argue that the rules are not necessary, as most of the country is still trying to meet the current standard.
The ozone rules are “exorbitantly expensive, illegal and job-killing,” said Robert Murray, president and CEO of Murray Energy.
“This ozone rule is yet another illegal and destructive action aimed at killing jobs. We have the law, science, economics, cold hard energy facts and the Constitution on our side,” Murray said. “We will continue to fight to preserve our jobs and livelihoods, and we will prevail in our litigation.”
The energy industry has argued that the new ozone rule is so strict that even national parks would be out of compliance. In areas of the country with industry, the new rules would mean no new energy development, construction projects or any other kind of large infrastructure investment.
Murray said the rules would place increasing pressure on coal-fired power plants, forcing them to limit or cease operations.
The ozone rule “will cause coal-fired power plants to close prematurely, killing thousands of jobs and drastically increasing electricity rates for manufacturers and people who are poor or on fixed incomes, with no environmental benefit whatsoever,” the company said.
Murray says the Clean Power Plan, similarly, will cause residents on fixed incomes to not be able to pay their electric bills, and U.S. “manufacturers of products for the global marketplace will not be able to compete.”
“We have no choice but to challenge the Obama administration’s illegal actions in court, and we will prevail,” he said.
