EPA bureaucrats defy SCOTUS ruling, target energy industry.

The EPA’s New Rules Could Spell the End for Fossil Fuels

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced new rules that could regulate the fossil fuel industry out of business. The new carbon pollution standards for coal and natural gas-fired power plants demand plants reduce their emissions by 90% within two decades or face closure. Compliance with the agency’s mandatory targets would require the deployment of innovative carbon capture technologies not in use at a single U.S. power plant. The new rules will push utilities to retire aging coal plants while the administration creates an artificial market for energy generation by wind and solar through generous subsidies.

What the Experts Say

Tom Pyle, the president of the American Energy Alliance, warns that the environmental regulations threaten to undermine the power grid if the proposed rules make it past the courts. “If this regulation survives a court challenge, which is very much in doubt,” Pyle said, “It will lead to more blackouts and higher electricity prices.”

David Bernhardt, a long-time administrator who previously served as secretary of the Interior under President Donald Trump, outlined the consequences of the decision in a new book out this week. “The bottom line,” Bernhardt wrote, “is that if the federal judiciary pays homage to the West Virginia decision, it will likely mean that the people will make the rules through their elected representatives — not federal bureaucrats.”

The Impact of the Proposal

Since the EPA’s draft rule relies on new and unproven technologies to meet agency requirements, the new regulations present a sweeping transformation of the power grid. While ultimately up to the courts to decide, the broad impact of the proposal goes well beyond the scope of EPA authority that was narrowed by the high bench last summer.

About the Author

Tristan Justice is the western correspondent for The Federalist and the author of Social Justice Redux, a conservative newsletter on culture, health, and wellness. Follow him on Twitter at @JusticeTristan or contact him at [email protected]. Sign up for Tristan’s email newsletter here.