Oklahoma Administrative Code › Title 1 - EXECUTIVE ORDERS › Section 1:2015-22

Current through Vol. 41, No. 20, July 1, 2024
I, Mary Fallin, Governor of the State of Oklahoma, by the
			 authority vested in me pursuant to Sections 1 and 2 of Article VI of the
			 Oklahoma Constitution, hereby provide policy guidance and direct the following
			 actions by Oklahoma executive officials:
1. In 2013, President Obama directed the
		  United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to issue regulations
		  regarding carbon pollution from existing power plants under Section 111(d) of
		  the Federal Clean Air Act (Clean Air Act). He directed the EPA to issue a
		  proposed rule by June 2014 and promulgate a final rule not later than June
		  2015.
2. On June 2, 2014, in
		  response to this Presidential order, the EPA proposed a set of administrative
		  rules designed to cut carbon emissions from existing power plants. These rules
		  are commonly referred to by the federal agency as part of the Obama
		  Administration's Clean Power Plan. This incredibly far-reaching regulatory
		  scheme seeks to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from existing fossil fuel-fired
		  power plants. EPA has historically interpreted its authority under the Clean
		  Air Act as only being able to regulate emissions from power plants. However,
		  the proposed regulations seek to go beyond that traditional authority and
		  regulate all aspects of state energy systems. On December 1, 2014, I directed
		  the Oklahoma Secretary of Energy and Environment to submit comments on behalf
		  of Oklahoma opposing the proposed rules and specifically stated that "the
		  proposed rule introduces unworkable barriers" and asked that the proposed rule
		  "be withdrawn."
3. Similarly,
		  Attorneys General from multiple states, including Oklahoma, have issued
		  statements and scholarly papers stating that the proposed rules have numerous
		  possible legal defects, each of which may provide an independent basis to
		  invalidate the Clean Power Plan in its entirety.
4. If the proposed Clean Power Plan, Section
		  111(d) regulations are indeed finalized in June 2015, the final rule
		  contemplates the development and submission of a State Implementation Plan
		  (SIP) to ensure full compliance with the new federal mandates. Oklahoma
		  stakeholders will have to be assembled to create a proposed plan. The
		  development of such a SIP involves dozens of state and private entities and
		  thousands of hours of study and negotiations. It is a massive undertaking and
		  requires the commitment of untold amounts of financial and time
		  resources.
5. If the Clean Power
		  Plan is adopted in 2015, and Attorneys General are correct in their legal
		  analysis, the EPA has exceeded its authority under the Clean Air Act to
		  regulate carbon dioxide.
As Governor, I will not submit a Section 111(d) SIP to
			 ensure Oklahoma's compliance with such a clear overreach of federal
			 authority.
6.
I hereby prohibit
the Department of Environmental Quality from
		  beginning efforts to develop a SIP related to carbon dioxide emissions from
		  power generation sources under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act in response
		  to the finalization of the Clean Power Plan rules. The development of a SIP may
		  only proceed if such action is determined to be required by the Attorney
		  General of Oklahoma or a court of competent jurisdiction. Additionally, such
		  action may not begin absent express written authority of the Governor of
		  Oklahoma.
7.
I further
		  order
that if the Clean Power Plan rules are finalized by the EPA, that
		  the Office of the Attorney General of Oklahoma immediately review such rules
		  and publish on its website a white paper on the legal efficacy of such federal
		  regulations. I would also respectfully request that the Attorney General take
		  such action as is necessary to enforce the rights of the State of Oklahoma and
		  its citizens from such federal actions as may impact the freedoms of its
		  people.
This Executive Order shall be distributed to the Executive
			 Director of the Department of Environmental Quality, the Office of the Attorney
			 General of Oklahoma, and the Secretary of Energy and Environment, who shall
			 cause the provisions of this Order to be implemented.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the
			 Great Seal of the State of Oklahoma to be affixed at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma,
			 this 28th day of April, 2015.
BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA
Mary Fallin
ATTEST:
Chris Benge
Secretary of State