Waste Virginia Governor (and Senate hopeful) Joe Manchin has announced a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for tightening federal regulation of so-called “mountaintop mining.” According to the NYT, Manchin claims “the regulations were unlawful, usurped state rights, were based in inadequate science and harmed the state by preventing new mining projects.” Color me skeptical. This lawsuit may make for good politics (at least in West Virginia, where Manchin has been accused of being insufficiently supportive of the coal industry), but I am doubtful of the legal merits. I’ll be interested to read the filings.