FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS RELEASE
August 21, 2012
For More Information, contact:
Luther Strange
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Alabama Attorney General
Suzanne Webb (334) 242-7351
Jeff Sommer (334) 353-2199
Page 1 of 1
AG ANNOUNCES INVALIDATION OF EPA RULE
REGARDING AIR EMISSIONS ACROSS STATES
(MONTGOMERY) – Attorney General Luther Strange said he is pleased by a federal
court ruling today that struck down what he called “an intrusive and overreaching” rule of the
Environmental Protection Agency regarding air emissions across states.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia invalidated the EPA’s Cross State
Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR), ruling in the case of EME Homer City Generation L.P. v. EPA.
Attorney General Strange joined with Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and 13 other states
challenging the rule.
“This ruling upholds major principles of fair play,” said Attorney General Strange. “A
state must have the opportunity to propose its own plan to control air emissions before the EPA
forces a federal government plan upon the state. EPA’s actions in this respect have represented
a departure from the longstanding principle of cooperative federalism. I am pleased that the
court today struck down this intrusive and overreaching rule.”
The court found that the rule impermissibly imposed unwarranted requirements for
emission reductions on sources within “upwind” states that were believed by the EPA to
contribute to non-attainment of required limits on emission levels in “downwind” states.
Furthermore, to the extent that CSAPR required the states to reduce their emissions by an
amount greater than their own significant contribution to a downwind state’s non-attainment,
the court held that EPA exceeded its statutory authority under the Clean Air Act.
The court also held that EPA itself violated the Clean Air Act by imposing Federal
Implementation Plans (FIPs) on the states to achieve required emission reductions under
CSAPR, without first allowing the states opportunity to submit to EPA their own State
Implementation Plans (SIPs).
With its vacation of CSAPR, the court ordered EPA to continue to implement the Clean
Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) pending promulgation of a valid replacement.
–30–
501 Washington Avenue Montgomery, AL 36104 (334) 242-7300
www.ago.alabama.gov
