HELENA, Mont. (Legal Newsline) – Montana Attorney General Tim Fox has asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reconsider a ruling on carbon emission adopted back in August.
The final rule changed significantly from the initial draft from June, and many business leaders and public officials have expressed frustration over the changes. Montana and 26 other states have filed suit in federal court to overturn it.
“It was disingenuous for the EPA to propose one rule and then adopt something far different, especially since the final rule is much more burdensome to the people of Montana,” Fox said. “The state invested time and resources into evaluating options under the proposed rule, and the adopted rule rendered that work all but useless.”
Fox has a few reasons he believes the EPA should reconsider the rule. He claims that the final rule differs drastically from the original plan, meaning Montana did not have the opportunity to fairly evaluate it before it was adopted. Additionally, he believes the EPA acted without fair working knowledge of how the rule would affect the state of Montana.
“The bottom line is that Montana did not have a fair opportunity to evaluate and comment on the provisions of the final rule,” Fox said. “In light of our concerns, the EPA should reconsider its action and put the final rule on hold during that reconsideration process.”