Murray Energy Corporation Sues Obama EPA for Illegal and Unconstitutional Rule Expanding Jurisdiction over Waters and Dry Land

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Jul 01, 2015, 07:00 ET

SAINT CLAIRSVILLE, Ohio, July 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Murray Energy Corporation ("Murray Energy") announced today that it is filing two (2) lawsuits against the Obama Administration's United States Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") and the Army Corps of Engineers ("Corps") to stop the EPA's and the Corps' blatantly unconstitutional effort to radically rewrite the Clean Water Act by unlawfully and unreasonably expanding the definition of "Waters of the United States." The first lawsuit has been filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, and the second will be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. These lawsuits are yet another step in Murray Energy's legal campaign to stop the Obama EPA's illegal actions and to restore the rule of law in this Country.

"The Obama EPA's final 'Waters of the United States' rule not only reflects an unprecedented expansion in federal regulatory authority, but results in one of the largest land grabs by the Federal Government in this Nation's history," said Mr. Gary M. Broadbent, Assistant General Counsel and Media Director for Murray Energy. In summarizing the rule, Broadbent notes, "The Obama EPA is seeking to expand jurisdiction over dry ditches, puddles, ponds, and erosional features, dictating to Americans how they can and cannot use their private property." He further notes that, "Under the Obama EPA's rule, any area that is wet, or has the potential to be wet, would be subject to the Clean Water Act. Congress clearly did not intend such a radical and illogical outcome."

In 1972, when Congress adopted the Clean Water Act, it expressly limited the federal government's authority to "navigable waters." Over the years, however, the EPA has engaged in "regulatory creep," expanding its rules and authority under the Clean Water Act to include not only navigable waters, but dry lands and activities potentially affecting those areas. In 2001 and 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court rendered opinions that struck down the EPA's impermissible expansion of authority. Seemingly undeterred, the Obama EPA continues to aggressively push beyond the limits of its authority.

"If the Clean Water Act is to be rewritten, it should be done so by Congress, after input from the Citizens of the United States and serious deliberation by Congress, not by EPA through a series of unilateral administrative changes that effectively rewrites the Clean Water Act" said Broadbent.

Murray Energy is one of the largest employers in the U.S. coal industry, producing over 85 million tons of underground mined bituminous coal per year and providing over six thousand (6,000) high paying, well benefited jobs to employees in six (6) states.

www.murrayenergycorp.com

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SOURCE Murray Energy Corporation