Attorney General Gentner Drummond has filed a federal lawsuit against the Biden administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its rejection of Oklahoma’s plan regarding ozone emissions. The petition to review the disapproval was filed March 2 with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
In addition to disapproving Oklahoma’s state implementation plan (SIP) to comply with a Clean Air Act rule pertaining to ozone emissions, the EPA has issued a rule to require Oklahoma and other states with disapproved SIPs to follow a federal plan.
Drummond said the EPA actions amount to a power grab by the Biden administration.
“This is federal overreach of the first order,” he said. “Rather than work with Oklahoma to make whatever modifications the EPA claims are necessary to comply with its burdensome regulations, the Biden Administration is seeking a one-size-fits-all federal plan with absolutely no input from Oklahoma or other affected states. The EPA plan places unnecessary and costly burdens on Oklahoma businesses and ignores the expertise of Oklahoma’s Department of Environmental Quality, all at the expense of state sovereignty.”
Drummond noted that the Oklahoma legislature has faithfully appropriated funds to the Office of the Attorney General for the purpose of fighting federal overreach.
“The people of Oklahoma should be deeply thankful that legislative leaders like Speaker Charles McCall and President Pro Tempore Greg Treat made it a priority to fund the fight against federal overreach,” he said. “Oklahoma is ideally positioned to help lead the way in this battle against the EPA.”
The DEQ had created the state implementation 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.
