Gordon: Wyoming, other states suing EPA over coal plant rule

CHEYENNE (WNE) — Gov. Mark Gordon on Monday announced that Wyoming will lead a lawsuit with Texas, North Dakota and 14 other states challenging the latest in a slew of rules from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) targeting the coal industry.

This is the fourth suit the governor has filed since EPA released the rule package targeting coal-fired power plants this spring. Wyoming previously filed three lawsuits challenging EPA’s other rules.

The coal combustion residuals (CCR) rule creates two new categories of federally regulated CCR facilities: inactive coal ash impoundments at inactive power plants and CCR “management units,” areas of land where coal ash was received, placed or otherwise managed that had not previously been regulated by EPA.

“This one-size-fits-all rule applies a broad brush to every area, while setting unreasonable timelines that will be costly to implement,” Gordon said in a news release. “Ultimately, these costs will be borne by electric cooperatives and passed on to taxpayers. It’s time we stopped this onslaught of anti-coal regulations.”

Wyoming’s lawsuit argues that the final rule exceeds EPA’s statutory authority, and is otherwise arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion and not in accordance with law.

This story was published on August 14, 2024.