Twenty-Three AGs Filed Motion to Intervene to Defend EPA’s Authority to Regulate Greenhouse Gas Emissions Under the Clean Air Act

New York Attorney General Letitia James led a coalition of 23 attorneys general in filing a motion to intervene in a lawsuit brought by a group of coal companies against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) challenging the agency’s well-established authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under Section 111 of the Clean Air Act. In their motion, the attorneys general stressed that they have a “compelling interest in defending EPA’s authority” in this area, and warned that the EPA’s “statements and actions in this and other rulemakings give … reason to doubt EPA’s willingness to vigorously defend it[s] authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.” In announcing the action, AG James emphasized the coalition’s intention “to make certain that the EPA — now, and in the future — has the legal tools necessary to do what is right for the health, safety, and wellbeing of New Yorkers and Americans throughout the nation.”