Huelskamp Applauds Courts for Checking Out-of-Control EPA Bureaucrats

Statement

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled Tuesday that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stepped beyond its congressionally-delegated authority with its Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR). CSAPR would have affected power plants in 28 states by requiring them to meet expensive emissions reductions levels. The Court ruled that the EPA's rule was overly burdensome and costly. Congressman Tim Huelskamp issued the following statement about the court's ruling:

"Every so often, the courts do the right thing and check out-of-control bureaucrats who have abused their congressionally-delegated authority," Congressman Huelskamp said. "But, even though the rule has been overturned, the uncertainty created by it and the overreach of Washington still come at a price. Here in Kansas, Sunflower Electric Power Corporation, a rural cooperative, has already invested $22 million to install new burners to be in compliance with the rule, but now the courts have invalidated that rule. There is no return policy on the burners, and all Sunflower's customer owners are going to be stuck footing the bill for this unnecessary regulation. Sunflower had no choice but to spend the money, knowing it could not risk being able to provide electricity its customers need -- especially in the high heat summer we are enduring. Hopefully today is just the first in many court decisions putting a check on Washington's bureaucrats."

Congressman Huelskamp is a cosponsor of the House-passed HR 2401 -- the Transparency in Regulation Analysis of Impacts on the Nation (TRAIN Act) -- to delay the implementation of the CSAPR and the maximum achievable control technology (Utility MACT) rules until the full economic impacts of both rules had been assessed. Despite having received the legislation in September 2011, the Senate has yet to take up the bill.

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