Respondents Brief — West Virginia, et al., Petitioners v. Environmental Protection Agency, et al.

No. 20-1530

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES

STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA, ET AL.,

Petitioners,

v.

U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY AND

MICHAEL REGAN, ADMINISTRATOR OF THE

U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY,

Respondents.

On Petition for A Writ of Certiorari

to the United States Court of Appeals

for the District of Columbia Circuit

RESPONSE OF AMERICA’S POWER IN SUPPORT OF CERTIORARI

HUNTON ANDREWS KURTH LLP

F. WILLIAM BROWNELL

ERICA N. PETERSON

2200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW

Suite 900

Washington, DC 20037

(202) 955-1500

HUNTON ANDREWS KURTH LLP

ELBERT LIN

Counsel of Record

951 East Byrd Street, East Tower

Richmond, Virginia 23219

elin@HuntonAK.com

(804) 788-8200

June 3, 2021

Counsel for Respondent America’s Power

CORPORATE DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

Respondent America’s Power is a trade association comprised of companies

involved in the production of electricity from coal. It has no parent corporation, and

no publicly held company owns a 10 percent or greater interest in America’s Power.

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RESPONSE IN SUPPORT OF CERTIORARI

America’s Power agrees with West Virginia and others that it is essential to

maintain electric grid reliability and resilience, as well as affordable electricity prices.

America’s Power has always maintained that the U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) does not have the authority under section 7411(d) of the Clean Air Act,

42 U.S.C. § 7411(d), to require electric utilities to reduce operations of their coal-fired

generating plants, and then to replace that lost capacity with alternative sources of

generation in order to reduce carbon emissions. As explained in previous filings,

America’s Power believes that the question of how to restructure broad segments of

American industry to reduce carbon emissions is a matter for States or Congress, not

EPA under this little-used provision of the Clean Air Act.

America’s Power acknowledges that climate change is an important national

and international issue. Of similar importance is the question of which parts of the

federal government have the authority to address climate change and in what

ways. For these reasons, America’s Power supports granting certiorari to provide

clarity as to, and resolve the ongoing controversy over, the nature and extent of EPA’s

authority under section 7411(d) of the Clean Air Act.

Respectfully submitted,

HUNTON ANDREWS KURTH LLP

ELBERT LIN

Counsel of Record

951 East Byrd Street, East Tower

Richmond, Virginia 23219

elin@HuntonAK.com

(804) 788-8200

F. WILLIAM BROWNELL

ERICA N. PETERSON

2200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 900

Washington, DC 20037

(202) 955-1500

June 3, 2021

Counsel for Respondent America’s Power

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