Republican attorneys sue EPA over carbon rule
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Republican attorneys general from 27 US states, and industry trade groups filed lawsuits to block a new Environmental Protection Agency rule to reduce carbon emissions from coal-fired and natural gas power plants.
These lawsuits were filed in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, with one led by 25 states, including West Virginia and Indiana, and another by Ohio and Kansas. Electric utility, mining, and coal industry trade groups also filed lawsuits against the rule.
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey stated that the regulations rely on unproven emissions reduction technologies, go beyond the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority under the Clean Air Act, and would significantly alter the nation’s energy grid without explicit approval from Congress.
“They’ve taken a pretty aggressive view of what it means to have something be adequately demonstrated, and I just think the Supreme Court will look at this and say EPA is out over its skis,” said Jeff Holmstead, a lawyer at the law firm Bracewell and a former EPA official during the administration of Republican former President George W. Bush.
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The rule requires new gas and existing coal plants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2032.
This mandate is expected to compel the US power industry to invest billions of dollars in emissions control technologies or close the most polluting coal facilities.
The regulations are a key component of President Biden’s climate agenda, specifically targeting a sector responsible for almost a quarter of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions.
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