Clean Power Plan Becomes Law, 24 States Sue to Block Carbon Rule

coal power plant

by | Oct 23, 2015

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coal power plantThe EPA published the Clean Power Plan in the federal register today, making existing power plants in the US legally responsible to limit carbon pollution for the first time.

Under the new carbon law, existing coal-burning power plants must cut carbon emissions by 32 percent by 2030, compared to 2005 levels.

Now that the Clean Power Plan is law, 24 states are suing together to stop it; North Dakota and Oklahoma are suing independently the Denver Post reports.

The states as asking the court to overturn the rule and immediately block it from taking effect as the lawsuits move through the courts.

West Virginia attorney general Patrick Morrisey, a Republican, who is leading the legal challenge, told reporters that the rule will hurt his state’s coal mining industry, raise power rates for consumers and risk electricity reliability, the Hill reports.

EPA’s rule is flatly illegal and one of the most aggressive executive branch power grabs we’ve seen in a long time,” he said. “The EPA cannot do what it intends to do legally.”

The states involved in the lawsuit are West Virginia, Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Arizona and North Carolina.

Photo Credit: coal power plant via Shutterstock

 

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