RICHMOND – This week, the Virginia Chamber of Commerce joined 166 other state and local business associations from 40 different states in an amicus brief filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit explaining the harmful economic impact posed by the EPA’s carbon regulations. The lawsuit, which will be considered by a federal appeals court this summer, involves EPA’s “Clean Power Plan” rules, which aim to reconfigure state electricity systems. It is expected to be a landmark case that could shape Virginia’s energy and economic future. The full amicus brief is available at http://vachamber.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Clean-Power-Amicus-Brief-As-FILED.pdf

A stay on the Clean Power Plan was requested by 29 states, represented by both Republican and Democratic Attorneys General.

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring joined the states of New York, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington to intervene in support of the EPA.

“Affordable electricity gives us an advantage in an intensely competitive global economy,” said Keith Martin, Executive Vice President of Public Policy and General Counsel for the Virginia Chamber. “Our rates in Virginia are currently more than 10 percent below the national average, and our state economic development officials tout that advantage in attracting companies to do business in the Commonwealth. The EPA regulations will result in higher costs for electricity and all the goods and services that depend on it.”

The coalition’s brief outlines major legal and economic concerns with the rule, arguing that EPA has trampled on the rights of states to determine their own energy mix and implement environmental standards in a manner tailored to their own circumstances.

The brief explains that EPA’s challenged rule will pose significant harm to regional and local communities, particularly in economically challenged rural areas. In issuing these regulations, the EPA purports to have discovered the authority to regulate how states generate, transmit, and use electricity, without any authority from Congress to do so.

For example, EPA is requiring Virginia to reduce its electricity sector carbon emissions rate 32 percent by 2030. An independent analysis by NERA Economic Consulting has projected that this will increase state electricity prices by an average of 13 percent, and up to 18 percent in peak years.

Currently, electricity rates in Virginia are less than 9 cents per kilowatt-hour—about 11 percent below the national average.

A decision in the case is likely to be issued by the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit later this year. From there, the challenge is expected to make its way to the Supreme Court, which has ordered EPA to halt all implementation and enforcement actions on the rule until it has the opportunity to consider the case.

ABOUT THE VIRGINIA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE:

The Virginia Chamber of Commerce is the largest business advocacy organization in the Commonwealth, with more than 23,500 members. The Chamber is a non-partisan, business advocacy organization that works in the legislative, regulatory and political arenas to act as the catalyst for positive change in all areas of economic development and competitiveness for Virginia.