An energy expert weighs in on EPA’s 23 government attorneys

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is leading 22 other attorneys general in opposing the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new rule that would penalize the oil and natural gas sector for exceeding certain levels of methane emissions.

GOP states are alleging that the new law, established in President Biden’s inflation-reduction law, is “arbitrary, capricious (and) an abuse of discretion.” The complaint against EPA is less detailed, saying the new rule is “illegal” because “the final rule exceeds the agency’s statutory authority.”

Steve Milloy: Supreme Court Defines Very Narrow Authority on How Congress Can Delegate Legislative Power, A former Trump administration EPA transition adviser and senior fellow at the Energy and Environmental Law Institute, he said it was unclear to him how the EPA legislation would pass Congress.

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“The IRA clearly imposes a tax on the EPA and dictates the tax rate,” Milloy told Fox News Digital, pointing to the IRA’s “Waste Emissions Charge” section, which caps methane emissions at 25,000 metric tons. “I’m interested to see how the states back up their claims.”

However, Milloy opposes the new levy on the oil and gas sector, citing methane as an “irrelevant greenhouse gas”.

“The tax is pointless and does nothing but make oil and natural gas more expensive,” he said.

Milloy suggested that the move to sue in the final days of the Biden administration was to start the process for the plaintiffs to settle with the Trump administration. According to him, this is a tactic used by both sides of the green energy debate. He added that in the past, the Trump administration has been trying to eliminate “sue and settle” methods.

“Congress needs to change the law,” Milloy said. Because let’s say they sue and argue, then the next administration can come back and reverse it.

Meanwhile, another lawsuit from the Michigan Oil and Gas Association (MOGA) and the American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce (AMFree) confirmed that the new law would pass Congress, but offered a detailed explanation as to why.

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“Under subpart W, facilities in the natural gas and petroleum supply chain must report greenhouse gas emissions if they emit 25,000 metric tons or more of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions,” the second lawsuit states. “For gases other than carbon dioxide, ‘equivalent’ emissions are determined by multiplying the gas’s ‘Global Warming Potential’ (‘GWP’).”

Michael Buschbacher, a partner at Boyden Gray PLLC, which represents MOGA and AmFree in their lawsuit, agreed with Milloy that he would seek legislation to overturn the new methane law, but said the purpose of the legal filing is “to get the most serious.” The US energy industry could begin its journey back to dominance under the new administration.

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“Biden-era environmental regulations won’t magically disappear at 12:01 a.m. Monday. It will take time and legislation to clean up the mess he left behind,” Bushbacher said.

EPA declined to comment on the matter, citing pending litigation.