15 states ask court to block federal CO2 rules

OREANDA-NEWS. August 17, 2015. A group of 15 state attorneys general yesterday asked a federal court to block implementation of the US Environmental Protection Agency's CO2 regulations for existing power plants

The states, as well as coal producer Peabody Energy, petitioned the DC Circuit Court of Appeals to issue an emergency stay of the Clean Power Plan compliance deadlines, saying that allowing the regulations to move forward would cause "irreparable harm" by forcing states and industry to immediately begin work on compliance plans. EPA is requiring states to submit initial compliance plans by 6 September 2016 and final plans by 6 September 2018. While the Clean Air Act only allows lawsuits once final rules are published in the Federal Register, that may not happen for "as long as three or four months," during which regulators will have expended significant resources to begin drafting their plans, the states said.

"We want to ensure that no more taxpayer money or resources are wastefully spent in an attempt to comply with this unlawful rule that we believe will ultimately be thrown out in court," West Virginia attorney general Patrick Morrisey (R) said.

Morrisey is leading the 15-state coalition, which also includes Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

The states asked the court to rule on their petition by 8 September.

Peabody offered similar arguments in its petition, saying the harm to states and industry "will only intensify in the coming months," while the court reviews the regulations.

Many of the same states last week asked EPA to stay implementation of the regulations while the court determines their validity.

EPA did not respond to requests for comment.

The Clean Power Plan requires 47 states to meet a CO2 target for their power sector by 2030, with reductions to start in 2022. EPA says the plan will lead to a 32pc cut in the sector's emissions from 2005 levels by 2030.

The agency will have attorneys general for at least 15 states on its side as the litigation moves forward. A group led by New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman (D), called the other states' petition "premature" and said his group would oppose any legal efforts to overturn the regulations. The coalition includes California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, the District of Columbia and the City of New York.

Nine of these states have implemented cap-and-trade programs to reduce CO2 emissions. Eight are members of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative covering power plants in the northeast. California has an economywide program that includes the transportation sector.

Environmentalists predicted the West Virginia-led states' petition would fail, noting the DC Circuit and other courts have previously rejected lawsuits to block EPA from finalizing the regulations.

"After going 0 for 6 in premature challenges, all thrown out of court, the attorneys general have jumped the gun again," said David Doniger, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council's Climate and Clean Air Program.