Mobilization Series: Coal & the EPA
Murray Energy, one of the largest underground coal mining companies in the United States, filed for Chapter 11 (federal bankruptcy protection) and received approval in 2020. Effective September 2020, it sold all assets to former creditors under the new corporation, Ohio-based American Consolidated Natural Resources Inc. (ACNR).
In 2018, Murray Energy allocated $1,000,000 to America First Action, Inc. a Super PAC backing Trump’s administration. Subsequently in 2019, Andrew Wheeler was confirmed as the 15th administrator to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) following his appointment by President Donald Trump. He was confirmed by a vote of 52–47. Senator Susan Collins (R-Me.) was the only Republican to vote against him; no Democrats voted for him. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) did not vote. Prior to his position at the EPA, Wheeler was a lobbyist for Murray Energy.
Currently, 6 of ACNR’s 14 actively operating coal mines are in West Virginia. This week, the United States Supreme Court delivered its ruling of West Virginia v. EPA, ultimately explaining that the question at hand is “whether the ‘best system of emission reduction’ identified by EPA in the Clean Power Plan was within the authority granted to the Agency in Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act. For the reasons given, the answer is no.”
On EPA’s view of Section 111(d), Congress implicitly tasked it, and it alone, with balancing the many vital considerations of national policy implicated in deciding how Americans will get their energy. EPA decides, for instance, how much of a switch from coal to natural gas is practically feasible by 2020, 2025, and 2030 before the grid collapses, and how high energy prices can go as a result before they become unreasonably “exorbitant.” There is little reason to think Congress assigned such decisions to the Agency. Pg. 25
A decision of such magnitude and consequence rests with Congress itself, or an agency acting pursuant to a clear delegation from that representative body. The judgment of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is reversed, and the cases are remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. Pg. 31
The case for government being able to effectively legislate around environmental protection is weakening, and in the wake of shrinking legislative recourse for environmental pollution, the question of what a corrective course of action can look like to help curb the damage posed by pollutants becomes prevalent. Rather than relying on bans staying in place, bolstering support for energy alternatives might be the answer.
For example, London is in the process of making alternatives to coal more affordable, instituting “London Power,” which is a renewable energy “partnership between the Mayor and Octopus Energy…Any profits made by City Hall will be reinvested into community projects to help tackle fuel poverty and make London a zero-carbon city.”
That being said, constituent consumer and private enterprise participation in not only creating these alternatives but also in the processes associated with surfacing ideas, campaigning for their adoption and supporting representatives that prioritize their execution will be crucial.