AUSTIN – The Texas Public Policy Foundation recently filed comments in support of the proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan as directed by an executive order from President Donald Trump.
The comments highlight how the prior administration misinterpreted the Clean Air Act to serve an agenda, and the need for repeal of the Clean Power Plan in light of limitations imposed on the Environmental Protection Agency by Congress under the Clean Air Act.
“The past Administration attempted to rewrite the Clean Air Act to justify its unlawful Clean Power Plan,” said Robert Henneke, general counsel and director of the Center for the American Future at TPPF. “The Foundation’s comment provides the roadmap for EPA to restore the rule of law by staying within the confines of authority delegated by Congress.”
TPPF’s Comment identifies areas with which the past Administration’s EPA unlawfully and improperly used provisions within the Clean Air Act in crafting the Clean Power Plan regulatory scheme. In order to fully repeal the Clean Power Plan, TPPF’s Comment identifies critical legal issues that must be addressed and resolved by the current Administration.
"In a misguided effort to regulate carbon dioxide emissions to the maximum extent possible, the prior administration ignored legal limits and economic consequences when it promulgated the so-called Clean Power Plan to regulate the nation’s entire system of energy production,distribution and use,” said Ted Hadzi-Antich, senior attorney in the Center for the American Future at TPPF. “The Clean Air Act was not intended by Congress to provide EPA with such broad authority over our nation’s economic life. TPPF filed its comments in order to provide support to EPA’s proposal to repeal the plan, setting forth legal and policy reasons why the plan is not only unworkable, economically damaging, and unnecessary, but also illegal.”
Finally, they point to a more state-focused approach.
"States have the authority over what mix of energy sources is needed to provide electricity for their citizens, and Congress did not empower EPA to change that,” said Ryan Walters, an attorney with the Center for the American Future at TPPF. “Decisions of such a fundamental nature must be made by our elected representatives in Congress. These comments explain how the prior administration's actions exceeded the authority provided by the Clean Air Act, contradicting the text, structure, and longstanding canons of construction. EPA should be commended for seeking to correct this egregious usurpation."
For more information or to request an interview, please contact Alicia Pierce at[email protected] or 512-472-2700.
The Honorable Robert Henneke is the general counsel and director of the Center for the American Future at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. @robhenneke
Ted Hadzi-Antich is the senior attorney in the Center for the American Future at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
Ryan Walters is an attorney with the Center for the American Future at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit free-market research institute based in Austin. The Texas Public Policy Foundation aims to advance a societal framework that effectively fosters human flourishing based upon cooperation and mutually beneficial exchange of ideas and speech.
Primary website: www.TexasPolicy.com
Facebook page: www.Facebook.com/TexasPublicPolicyFoundation
Twitter feed: www.Twitter.com/TPPF