Grady Moore Discusses Potential Impact of Recent SCOTUS EPA Ruling with the Birmingham Business Journal

Grady Moore, partner in the firm’s Birmingham office and chair of Balch’s Environmental & Natural Resources Practice, recently shared insights into the potential impact of a recent SCOTUS environmental ruling on Alabama’s coal mining industries with the Birmingham Business Journal. The article, published on July 22, 2022, explained that this ruling places limits on the tools the EPA can use to regulate carbon emissions from existing power plants.

Ultimately, the court decided Congress didn’t give environmental organizations the authority to change how the U.S. produces electric power by switching from coal to natural gas, wind turbines and solar energy. The court was split six to three in the case of West Virginia vs. EPA.

The article noted that the most significant change is how much authority state government will have in environmental regulation. With this ruling, the EPA’s approach to regulation may now include less control over a state’s generation resources and how they use them. The Supreme Court has effectively given more power to state governments and businesses in states like Alabama.

“This will add a new dynamic to that relationship,” Grady said. “The EPA can only regulate carbon emissions from existing facilities through a partnership with states, and the EPA will have to adopt a new approach to regulation without mandating ‘generation shifting.’ This places control over a state’s mix of generation resources more firmly with state governments.”

Grady’s clients include large and small power companies, as well as industrial, chemical, and manufacturing companies. He focuses on Clean Air Act (CAA) rulemaking, permitting, and compliance issues for the energy, wood products, chemical, and manufacturing industries. Grady litigates Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state agency rulemaking and enforcement actions and provides permitting and compliance advice to clients' complex air regulatory issues including Title V, New Source Review, New Source Performance Standards (NSPS), National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) modeling, and Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs) Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT).