EPA Moves For Summary Judgment In Murray Energy's "Coal Jobs" Lawsuit

As first reported in the Spring 2015 issue of The Climate Report, in March 2014, Murray Energy Corp. ("Murray Energy") and 11 of its subsidiaries sued EPA in the Northern District of West Virginia federal court, alleging that EPA ignored its obligation to consider the consequences of Clean Air Act ("CAA") regulations on job losses and displacements in the coal industry. Murray Energy Corporation et al. v. Administrator of EPA, No. 5:14-cv-00039. In its complaint, Murray Energy proclaimed EPA's administration and enforcement of the CAA as a "War on Coal" that was "causing coal mines to close, costing hard-working Americans their jobs, and shifting employment away from areas rich in coal resources to areas with energy resources preferred by [EPA]." Murray Energy argued that EPA failed to comply with Section 321(a) of the CAA, which requires the EPA Administrator to "conduct continuing evaluations of potential loss or shifts of employment which may result from the