Coleman wants EPA air quality regulation reversed

FRANKFORT, Ky. (KT) - Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman announced Friday that he is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a Biden-era EPA air quality regulation that he says has raised costs for Kentucky manufacturers, utilities and farmers.

Leading the 25-state coalition with West Virginia Attorney General JB McCuskey, Coleman argues the overly stringent standards wouldn't improve public health but will raise costs and could effectively block new economic activity or job creation in large parts of the country.

In 2024, then-President Biden's EPA implemented an unprecedented limit on tiny particles in the air to solve an air quality problem that doesn't exist. AGs Coleman and McCuskey have led the fight against this rule since early 2024.

After President Trump was elected in 2024, the EPA changed its position on the rule and now half of the AGs from across the country are seeking to repeal the regulation.

According to the coalition, The Biden-era EPA rule could:

--Block the permitting of new manufacturing facilities and drive good-paying jobs out of Kentucky and overseas;

--Stop new infrastructure construction and leave Kentuckians on unsafe and congested roads and bridges; and

--Require small businesses, farmers, restaurants and even homeowners to pay for costly new equipment.

Kentucky's low-cost energy is central to the state's competitive advantage in attracting business investment.

"Together with attorneys general across the country, we're asking the Supreme Court to turn the page of President Biden's assault on common sense," Coleman said. "This regulation was about politics, not public health. Alongside my talented colleague, General McCuskey, we're seeking to break the EPA's chokehold on our states' economic potential."

According to a letter led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, and 28 other leading industry associations, "lowering the current standard so dramatically would create a perverse disincentive for American investment. The EPA's proposal could force investment in new facilities to foreign countries with less stringent air standards."

Earlier this year, AG Coleman helped lead the effort of supporting the EPA's repeal of Biden's anti-coal regulations from 2024.

Kentucky and West Virginia are joined by attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.