Drummond lauds U.S. Supreme Court decision to consider suit over Biden Administration rejection of Oklahoma's "Good Neighbor" plan
OKLAHOMA CITY (Oct. 21, 2024) – Attorney General Gentner Drummond said he is pleased by the U.S. Supreme Court decision to consider Oklahoma’s litigation opposing the Biden-Harris Administration’s federal overreach in rejecting Oklahoma’s state implementation plan (SIP) for ozone emissions.
In March 2023, Drummond filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its rejection of Oklahoma’s “Good Neighbor” plan regarding ozone emissions. In February of this year, the Tenth Circuit transferred the case to the D.C. Circuit. Drummond petitioned the Supreme Court for certiorari on the issue of venue. The high court today granted certiorari after the appellate court for the Tenth Circuit reached a different conclusion from that of the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Eighth Circuits on the issue of venue.
Drummond said the EPA’s disapproval of Oklahoma’s state implementation plan, which would have complied with a Clean Air Act rule to reduce ozone emissions, amounts to an unlawful power grab.
“Instead of working with Oklahoma to make whatever modifications the EPA claimed were necessary, the Biden Administration chose to burden the state with an unwieldy and costly one-size-fits-all plan. The EPA ignored the expertise of Oklahoma’s Department of Environmental Quality, all at the expense of state sovereignty.”
In addition to disapproving the state’s plan, the EPA issued a rule to require Oklahoma and other states to follow a federal plan.
The DEQ had created the plan to ensure compliance with Clean Air Act requirements that address emissions contributing to ozone levels downwind.
The EPA’s federal implementation plan would impose onerous federal emissions requirements on numerous sources, such as fossil fuel-fired power plants, in 25 states including Oklahoma.
