Release from West Virginia Attorney General:
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey filed a motion to intervene Thursday in a case that seeks to prevent the federal government from halting its oil and natural gas rule.
Patrick Morrisey
The Attorney General led an 11-state coalition supporting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s right to delay implementation of its own rule to review and reconsider the regulation. In this instance, moving forward would impose unnecessary and onerous mandates on oil and natural gas producers under a rule that the EPA may ultimately decide to revoke or revise.
“I applaud President Trump’s EPA for reviewing this burdensome rule and support the agency’s effort to delay implementation until the review is complete,” Attorney General Morrisey said. “Regulations such as this one hurt hard-working families by killing natural gas production, an activity that provides thousands of jobs within our state.”
The coalition seeks to intervene so as to argue the EPA has authority to reconsider and administratively stay rules that directly affect states. This includes its ability to prevent ‘unlawful and harmful’ regulations from taking effect during a review.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in May postponed any final decision regarding the legality of the rule in question, while the EPA and others involved determine the next steps.
West Virginia led a separate coalition of states and state agencies challenging the oil and natural gas rule in August 2016. The coalition argued the regulation imposes unnecessary and burdensome rules upon oil and gas producers. They also argued that the regulation could set existing oil and natural gas operations up for further limitations.
Imposing unnecessary and costly regulations would jeopardize thousands of natural gas, pipeline and construction jobs.
West Virginia filed Thursday’s motion to intervene with attorneys general from Alabama, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Wisconsin, along with the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet.
The motion can be read at http://bit.ly/2t6SMOq.