WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Mining Association (NMA) issued the following statement today applauding the Supreme Court’s decision to grant writs of certiorari in litigation related to the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit) to vacate the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule.
The Supreme Court has stated that it expects “Congress to speak clearly if it wishes to assign to an agency decisions of vast economic and political significance.” We are encouraged that the Supreme Court recognized the importance of the question at issue in deciding to consider whether Congress empowered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the authority to remake the energy economy. It has been and remains our position that the Clean Air Act does not provide the EPA with near unfettered authority to issue rules that fundamentally remake the nation’s electricity grids, causing massive electricity reliability and affordability repercussions across our economy—yet the decision by the D.C. Circuit to vacate the ACE rule mandates the EPA to consider generation shifting as a legal alternative. We look forward to the Supreme Court weighing in on this fundamental question.
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