Big Sky Times

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen has recently filed four lawsuits against the Biden administration, challenging what he calls "unlawful" Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules. This brings the total number of lawsuits filed by Attorney General Knudsen against the Biden administration to 49.

"President Biden has been waging war on affordable energy since the day he took office. I will continue to fight back against Joe Biden’s unlawful and overreaching energy policies,” said Attorney General Knudsen.

In one case, Attorney General Knudsen joined a coalition of 24 attorneys general in filing a challenge to the Biden administration’s new regulation on heavy-duty vehicle emissions. The regulation would require vehicle manufacturers to produce fewer trucks that utilize traditional internal-combustion technology in favor of electric trucks. According to Knudsen, this rule exceeds the EPA's constitutional and statutory authority and defies reality, as electric trucks are inefficient and costly.

In another lawsuit, Attorney General Knudsen joined a coalition of 25 attorneys general in asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to declare President Biden’s new Clean Air Act rule unlawful. The rule imposes more stringent emissions standards on existing coal-, natural gas-, and oil-fired power plants, potentially forcing many to shut down if they don’t capture smokestack emissions.

A third case sees Attorney General Knudsen joining a coalition of 23 attorneys general in challenging an EPA rule aimed at reducing air toxin emission levels from coal-fired plants. He argues that there are no corresponding health benefits to these new requirements and that they will put a greater financial burden on Montana and its industries.

Finally, Attorney General Knudsen joined a coalition of 14 attorneys general in challenging the EPA’s final rule amending its Risk Management Program (RMP) under the Clean Air Act. The rule places accident prevention program requirements on certain facilities that hold more than a threshold quantity of certain regulated substances. According to Knudsen, the rule increases regulatory burdens without providing a sufficient return in benefits.