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The Trump administration did not offer comment to the U.S. Supreme Court about a bid by certain coal-producing states to reject the legitimacy of Washington state standing in the way of a coal export terminal, leaving an opportunity for a Biden administration-controlled U.S. Justice Department to give an opinion instead.
After the state of Washington denied a water quality permit for the terminal proposed by Millennium Bulk Terminals-Longview LLC Wyoming and Montana filed a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court aimed at rejecting Washington's authority to block the project, citing the Dormant Commerce Clause and the Foreign Commerce Clause under the U.S. Constitution. Millennium is a subsidiary of Lighthouse Resources Inc., which was unable to find a buyer for the port through its Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.