Aspen Skiing Co. has joined a coalition of 16 states, several cities, two power companies and more than a dozen environmental groups in petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to force the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.
Aspen Skiing is the lone U.S. ski resort to file an amicus brief – a friend of the court – on the case to the Supreme Court today.
“We think climate change is the leading threat to our business,” said Auden Schendler, director of environmental affairs at Aspen Skiing. “I think this is by far the most important thing we’re going to do all year, including opening for the season.”
The ski resort company has been seen as an environmental leader in the industry for the past decade. In March, Aspen Skiing led Colorado’s charge toward wind energy, when it announced it would offset 100 percent of its electricity through renewable-energy certificates.
The private company owns Aspen, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk and Snowmass and employs roughly 3,400 people each winter.
The Supreme Court case addresses the EPA’s authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from motor vehicles. The EPA maintains it has no authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate anything related to global warming, and even if it did, that such regulations are inappropriate.
The case has been working its way through the courts since 2002. In July 2005, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled two-to-one to let the EPA’s decision stand. It is likely to be argued in front of the Supreme Court in November and be decided by next summer.
Case petitioners include 16 states, such as California, Massachusetts and New York; cities including Baltimore and Washington, D.C.; and environmental groups like Sierra Club and Natural Resources Defense Council.
“All of us believe that global warming is not a myth, it is one of the most important issues of our time,” said Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly. “We believe the federal government is shirking its responsibility to apply the law, even though the Clean Air Act very clearly and plainly gives the EPA the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. We’re pleased the Supreme Court has seen the importance of this case.”
Staff writer Julie Dunn can be reached at 303-954-1592 or at jdunn@denverpost.com.
