HELENA – As a result of a lawsuit brought by Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen and other state attorneys general, the U.S. Supreme Court has limited the power of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to issue sweeping dictates that attempt to reorder entire economic sectors and regulate wide swaths of everyday life.

In West Virginia, et al. v. Environmental Protection Agency, et al., the Court held 6-to-3 that the EPA’s plan to pick and choose favored energy sources, command generators and manufacturers to cross-subsidize competitors, or effectively shut down certain plant operations altogether was overly broad and an illegal overreach of power.

“A decision of such magnitude and consequence rests with Congress itself, or an agency acting pursuant to a clear delegation from that representative body,” Chief Justice Roberts wrote in the majority opinion.

“This ruling affirms what Montanans have known all along: the Biden administration’s attempt to weaponize the Clean Air Act was an abuse of the EPA’s authority. I’m glad to have worked with other states to stop this power grab and prevent President Biden from unilaterally ‘decarbonizing’ the power sector,” Attorney General Knudsen said. “Unfortunately, his disastrous environmentalist policies are harming Montanans. I will continue to fight his green agenda to shut down American energy development.”

Click here to read the full opinion.

Earlier this week, Attorney General Knudsen led a 16-state amicus brief in support of the Bull Mountains Mine permit to expand in Roundup, Montana.