Texas to Ignore New EPA Rules
Texas has so far defied new EPA rules that CO2 should be subject to permitting. The matter is due to come before a court, but so far Texas has made no effort to change its laws to comply with the Jan. 2nd deadline. The EPA thinks it has the power to halt all "industry and manufacturing construction" in the state via imposing $250,000 a day fines on contractors who build in the state anyway. I am sure they assume such power for themselves, but I have yet to lay my finger on the article of the Constitution which grants the federal government the power to halt all industry construction within a state.
posted by Mark Moore (Moderator) at Saturday, October 30, 2010
4 Comments:
Probably the interstate commerce clause, claiming that not only can pollution traverse state lines, but whatever product is produced by the industry will surely cross state lines eventually.
I think it's BS myself, but it's a valid argument that has practically never failed.
I concur on your BS call. I don't think pollution traveling over state lines can rationally be considered "interstate commerce", but rationality has not stopped our post-modern judiciary from extra-constitutional bench-legislation.
As for the rest, the courts have deformed the Commerce Clause to absurd proportions. Instead of limiting the clause to actual interstate commerce, they extend it to anything which might have an AFFECT on interstate commerce.
In this case, the CO2 they are talking about comes from coal and oil fired electric plants. Ought to be real easy to see if those lines go across the state lines or not, but that won't matter to them. I still say its not in the Constitution, unless one extends it to absurdity.
Mark, the job I am currently working on here in East Tn. was brought about because NC sued TVA for polluting the air in their state from coal power plants. NC won the lawsuit but TVA won on appeal. Its been a very interesting case. You can search the Johnson City, Kingsport and Chattanooga newspapers to look at the rulings.
I don't doubt that states have the right to sue one another. That is not what is going on here though. Its the feds vs. the state. If one state is polluting another, redress should not come through the interstate commerce clause, but rather the Supreme Court's delegated power to judge "controversies between states."
PS- I hope you got your package.
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