West Virginia AG opposes EPA's new rule on EVs

Less than a year after winning a Supreme Court decision against Environmental Protection Agency rules, West Virginia appears set to find another mandate.

Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, who recently announced he would run for governor, said Wednesday he has serious issues with an EPA announcement it will impose rules that will lead to as many as two-thirds of all vehicles in the United States to be electric vehicles by 2032.

The EPA said Wednesday the proposals would avoid nearly 10 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions, which are the equivalent of more than twice the total U.S. carbon dioxide emissions in 2022.

“This administration is hell bent on destroying America’s energy security and independence by making us dependent on resources and components that can come only from abroad,” Morrisey said. “The more the EPA pushes manufacturers towards electric vehicles, the more entangled we become with countries like China and the Democratic Republic of Congo.”

“By proposing the most ambitious pollution standards ever for cars and trucks, we are delivering on the Biden-Harris Administration’s promise to protect people and the planet, securing critical reductions in dangerous air and climate pollution and ensuring significant economic benefits like lower fuel and maintenance costs for families,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan.

Morrisey said he believes the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in West Virginia v. EPA made it clear the EPA did not have the right to impose regulatory schemes that determine policy for the country.

“But it is not plausible that Congress gave EPA the authority to adopt on its own such a regulatory scheme …” the ruling stated. “A decision of such magnitude and consequence rests with Congress itself, or an agency acting pursuant to a clear delegation from that representative body.”

Morrisey said the new guidelines are problematic as they set greenhouse emissions limits for 2027 through 2032 passenger vehicles with stricter goals than a plan the auto industry agreed to in 2021.

“The Biden administration’s woke agenda is also placing more strain and demand on our nation’s electrical energy grids at the same time that it has taken dramatic measures to weaken them,” Morrisey said. “Its continued war on coal ensures that the grid won’t have the baseload capacity to take on even more demand from electric vehicles, particularly in the off-hours that people charge these cars. Yet agencies like the EPA continue to ignore the production and distribution challenges that lie ahead if proposals like this are adopted.”

Morrisey said the state will continue to look at the new rules and be prepared to lead an effort against the energy proposal.