Federal appeals court dismisses Va. challenge to EPA rules
Ken Cuccinelli
A federal appeals court today upheld the Environmental Protection Agency’s finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger public health, rejecting challenges filed by Virginia, several other states and industry groups.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals sided unanimously with the EPA, which has come under fire from Republicans and industry groups for its rules limiting emissions from vehicles and stationary sources. The appeals court ruled that the federal Clean Air Act requires the EPA to set emissions limits once the agency determines that the emissions are harmful.
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli said he will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“The court said it would allow the EPA to move forward ‘even if the degree of regulation triggered might at a later stage be characterized as ‘absurd,’” said Cuccinelli, who has challenged the science behind global warming. “In doing so, the court evidently believed it was compelled to arrive at that decision because of the 2007 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Massachusetts v. EPA.”
The Massachusetts case led to the EPA’s endangerment finding that Cuccinelli has challenged. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney was Massachusetts’ governor when the 2007 case was decided, but he now rails against the regulatory policies of President Barack Obama’s administration.
Cuccinelli contends that the appellate court’s interpretation of the Clean Air Act goes beyond what the Supreme Court intended in its 2007 decision.
“I do not believe the Supreme Court intended to compel such a destructive interpretation of the Clean Air Act,” Cuccinelli said. “And because only the Supreme Court can clarify its prior ruling, Virginia intends to petition the Supreme Court to review the case.”
The Southern Environmental Law Center, which represented Norfolk-based Wetlands Watch in the case, hailed the court’s decision as a victory for “sound science.”
“This decision means Virginians can move past the ginned-up ‘Climategate’ controversy and refocus on how to solve the serious harms that are already underway from rising sea levels and other impacts of climate change,” said SELC senior attorney Morgan Butler. “Taking actions to limit greenhouse gas emissions will not only benefit our vulnerable coastal communities, but will also promote energy independence, a healthier environment, and new jobs.”
Cuccinelli noted that the appeals court also upheld the EPA’s use of United Nations-generated climate data that he considers suspect. The court ruled that the EPA “is not required to reprove the existence of the atom every time it approaches a scientific question.”
“Given the uncertain nature of the scientific evidence to begin with, a number of plaintiffs contended that when the Climategate scandal threw the science further into question, the EPA was required by law to reconsider its endangerment finding and reopen the record for additional public comment,” Cuccinelli said. “Instead, the EPA rejected reconsideration and unilaterally changed its finding without public participation. Virginia intends to appeal that, as well.”
Cuccinelli earlier this year lost a lengthy court fight with the University of Virginia over his demand for records dealing with the work of former university professor and climate scientist Michael Mann. The attorney general sought the documents under the Virginia Fraud Against Taxpayers Act. The Virginia Supreme Court ruled that Cuccinelli did not have the authority to issue a “civil investigative demand” to a state agency under the fraud statute.
Cuccinelli tied his demand for records to a controversy that erupted in 2009, when emails stolen from a British university were used by global warming skeptics to argue that climate change research had been manipulated. Multiple inquiries have produced no findings that Mann manipulated data.
– Michael Sluss
June 26, 2012 - 7:34 PM
Dr. Ken Cooch, PHD, Climate Science (online degree from LU) continues to make a fool of himself and make Va. a national laughingstock. His crusade against legitimate science continues to waste taxpayers money and what could be the valuable time of the AG’s office. The only one getting any benefit from this tilting at winmdmills is the Cooch as he solidifies his lunatic fringe credentials to appeal to the Republican tea party base in his quest for the party’s nominatoion to run for Governor.
How can those in our society who claim to be “pro-business” (read Republicans) have their head so far up their own asses as to think that what we humans are doing to this planet isn’t screwing it up for the next generations, regardless of what they call it? Common sense and simple observation will tell you that this ain’t Kansas anymore, Dorothy. Eroded soils, foul air (color-coded air quality days???), eradicated forests, poisoned streams and rivers, fallow farm lands, multiple-lane highways, obvious human population problems…the list goes on. I’m tired of hearing the bullshit-beat “We’re only trying to protect the job creators”. How much subsidy money do the Republicans and industry heads need now to be successful? And how much of our coffers are we spending fighting each other in court rather than finding a good solution?
Federal money has been pumping into biofuels for years and now we’re finding out that ethanol is terribly harmful to gasoline engines, not even taking in to consideration the harm that the actual PRODUCTION of ethanol does. We are creating problems in search of solutions. I guess when that subsidy money is used up suing the EPA they can demand more to create a new fuels, ones that run on bunnies or Bible verses, or whatever we have too much of at the time. These events make me ashamed to be a Virginian.
Instead of cutting funding to schools and mental health care and other necessary but underfunded programs, we should cut Cuccinelli’s
personal stepping stone to national office budgetclearly bloated office budget. His waste of taxpayer time and money has been shameful.If excessive EPA regulations didn’t strangle industry in Va. maybe we could fund our schools and other necessary programs. Just a thought.
I haven’t personally seen any industries strangled by EPA regulations, but examples would be helpful for this debate. I think the electric companies see the writing on the wall that coal is being replaced by cleaner, cheap natural gas (hold the fracking, please), but they’ve dragged their feet on switching over. I like my air and water clean and safe. I would gladly accept a slight increase in my taxes in order to have better schools, better roads, and better-paid teachers & policemen. That’s my thought.
Tell that to the coal miners, the people who used to work for the textile and furniture factories, the people who manufacture incandescent light bulbs, people who work at power plants
http://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Update-of-Power-Plants-to-be-Closed-by-EPA-Regs-Feb-7.pdf
And by the way all these people losing their good paying jobs can no longer pay taxes. You have to have a job to pay taxes.
It’s so sad that the clearest indicator of someone’s voting choice re democrat or republican is their stance on the issues behind this ruling.
#5 Thanks for demonstrating that you don’t know what’s behind the decline in coal, textile and furniture jobs, will. I’ll give you a start — look up how many coal jobs have been lost to efficiency, including strip mining, mountaintop removal, and machines that can now do the job of dozens and dozens of men. Those are EPA mandated?
Will, almost all the furniture and textile jobs got shipped overseas, either by companies looking to make ever-bigger profits at the expense of their workers or because companies couldn’t compete/wouldn’t go along with that practice and went out of business altogether.
Did you cry for the oil lamp factory workers, the wood stove factory workers, carriage makers, the buggy whip and tack makers, the passenger rail, the pony express riders, or the “Indian trackers” when they were out of a job will? The factory jobs wanted third world wages and the coal companies refused to find a way to burn coal cleaner, that was not the workers choice. Technology, innovation and progress has always affected jobs. So has the greed you so often applaud.
Those coal miners are really ticked off about the EPA and its drive to keep clean water and air and enforce safety standards in mines. That’s why MR. anti_EPA, Morgan Griffith has their solid support. Oh wait? You mean he doesn’t? Amazing. The UMW has just endorsed his opponent, Anthony Flaccavento. They know that ol’ Morgan has been throwing them under the bus to put more money in the pockets of the mine owners. Good chance the cemetery man could be a one term Congressman. Wonder if his bosom buddy Habeeb will give up his seat to let Morgan back in the Huse of Delegates. Or maybe he’ll do like Raloh Smith and rent a camper traier to establish residence in some other distict. Unlike his initial run for Congress, in Va. you really have to have rersidence in the district you represent(theoretically) By the way, has anyone checked recently to see if Ralphie still lives in a one room cabin without hesat and electricity on Bent Mtn.?
The future of coal is definitely an issue I plan on digging into quite a bit during this election. Here’s the news release about the UMWA endorsement that dave is talking about in comment #11:
The United Mine Workers of America has endorsed Anthony Flaccavento, candidate for the US House of Representatives in the 9th District.
“I’m honored to have the endorsement of the United Mine Workers,” says Flaccavento. “The UMWA has been there for miners, their children and their families for generations, and have helped give working people a voice in Washington and here at home. I intend to continue and build on that legacy, for miners and working people throughout the 9th.”
Flaccavento has supported and advocated for miners since he moved to the district nearly 30 years ago. He joined union miners on the picket lines during the Pittston strike of 1989, which earned him the respect of many local mine workers. As Congressman, he will fight for job security and workplace safety for active miners.
“I’ve known Anthony for over 24 years,” says UMWA representative Mike Kennedy. “I met him through his efforts to help the community any way he could. Any time there’s a crisis he’s always there to help. He understands the economy of SWVA because he lives here… Not only is he concerned about the coal industry, he’s concerned about the miners themselves and about protecting their benefits: Social Security, pensions, health care, and black lung.”
Flaccavento is a farmer and small-business consultant from Abingdon. This is his first run for public office.
For a little more on the coal situation in the 9th two years ago, here’s a 2010 story I wrote about the issue and how it was playing out between Morgan Griffith and then-incumbent Rick Boucher.
– Mason Adams
The endorsement of Flaccavento by the UMWA means virtually nothing. Until it is tied to tens of millions in campaign contributions and active support on the campaign trail, it will be flooded underneath by the Koch dollars supporting griffith. Cemetery Boy gets re-elected by a 55-45% vote, despite having done next to nothing in his first term.
He still doesn’t live in the 9th District, does he? Nobody even cares, do they?
@ #13 crooked road:
The redrawn boundaries for the 9th District do in fact include Griffith’s home in Salem.
– Mason Adams
I started a new post dealing with coal issues in the 9th and that UMWA endorsement.
It’s here:
http://blogs.roanoke.com/politics/2012/06/29/how-important-is-the-united-mine-workers-endorsement-in-the-9th/
– Mason Adams