Republican Arkansas Governor. According to a petition obtained by The Daily Caller, Sarah Huckabee Sanders is going to sue the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Thursday.
The EPA issued a revised ozone standard in 2015. It required states to create a state-specific implementation program (SIP), to comply with the requirements. States are required to put in place controls to prevent neighboring states from failing to meet the air quality standards.
Arkansas presented a plan in 2019 that was based on the best data available and compatible with EPA guidance issued under Trump administration. SIP was created to meet our industry’s air quality standards. The EPA has officially rejected Arkansas’s proposal for a SIP. They claim it does not prevent Arkansas air emissions from contributing to nonattainment at Dallas/Ft. Houston and Worth metro areas.
Petition states that the EPA’s decision was based on Arkansas data at the time of SIP development. The EPA instead of allowing revisions to SIP, it chose to reject the plan and replace it with its own.
“In my inaugural speech, I pledged to end the meddling of big government at the Mississippi. Attorney General Griffin has been asked to sue EPA to remove Washington bureaucratic tyrants from Arkansans’ heads. Sanders explained to the Caller that this federal overreach could have a negative impact on critical Arkansas industries, and more importantly, Arkansas workers, and their families.
She added that the Biden Administration was threatening Arkansas businesses and thousands Arkansas jobs.
The Biden administration saw the EPA rejecting plans from Arkansas and 24 other states and substituting a federal implementation program (FIP) under its jurisdiction.
To challenge the EPA’s rejection Arkansas’ SIP, litigation must be filed in federal court. Arkansas has 60 days to file the lawsuit after publication in Federal Register.
Sanders will announce the lawsuit on Thursday afternoon.
