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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.