Free Republic

Today the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in West Virginia vs. EPA, ruling that the Clean Air Act did not specifically authorize the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. Now, any greenhouse gas regulations would need specific authorization from Congress. At issue was the Clean Power Plan (CPP), an EPA regulation promulgated by the Obama administration which mandated that existing coal and natural gas power plants reduce their carbon dioxide emissions. There were many problems with this regulation, some of them were legal, and some of them were practical. Legally Speaking.. The...

Taking heat on the campaign trail over fossil fuel production on federal lands, the Interior Department today announced an oil and gas lease sale that will offer more than 20 million acres off the coast of Texas and will make available all unleased areas in the Western Gulf of Mexico Planning Area. The sale will be held Nov. 28 in New Orleans. “The President’s commitment to a comprehensive, all-of-the-above energy strategy is creating jobs here at home while reducing our dependence on foreign oil,” said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. “Exploration and development of our Western Gulf’s vital energy resources will...

10. Land use -- Review executive orders concerning the Antiquities Act designations of lands by the government. Under Bill Clinton, millions of acres of lands were locked up by executive fiat and, because these actions were not established by law, they can be undone by executive action of a subsequent President. 9. Oil drilling -- Continue to push the Outer Continental Shelf planning process so that newly opened OCS acreage can be leased for future oil drilling. 8. Oil shale leasing -- Issue the final leasing regulations for oil shale leasing in the Western United States. Without these, the U.S....