BREAKING NEWS: 25 State Attorneys General Filed Lawsuit Over EPA's New Greenhouse Gas Emissions Rule

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Summary 

On 9 May 2024, the attorneys general of 25 U.S. states filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan, seeking to have the EPA's new rule on existing coal-, natural gas- and oil-fired power plants declared unlawful.

The lawsuit, filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, takes aim at the EPA’s new Greenhouse Gas Standards and Guidelines for Fossil Fuel-Fired Power Plants. The rule would force power plants fueled by coal or natural gas to capture smokestack emissions or shut down. It would regulate those plants under the Clean Air Act by imposing more stringent emissions standards.

Review

“The EPA continues to not fully understand the direction from the Supreme Court-unelected bureaucrats continue their pursuit to legislate rather than rely on elected members of Congress for guidance,” West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey stated in a press release issued by his office. “This green new deal agenda the Biden administration continues to force onto the people is setting up the plants to fail and therefore shutter, altering the nation's already stretched grid.”

Morrisey continued to voice his concerns over the new rule, saying, “This rule strips the states of important discretion while using technologies that don't work in the real world-this administration packaged this rule with several other rules aimed at destroying traditional energy providers.”

In the press release issued by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita’s office, the new EPA rule is described as “an invasive” new rule that “threatens the reliability of our power grid and will once again jack up utility costs for regular, everyday Hoosiers.”

Attorney General Rokita said the new rule is “wildly inefficient” and imposes significant restrictions on coal-fired plants, requiring them to capture 90% of carbon emissions “using expensive, unproven technology.”

He added he believes the rule exceeds the agency's statutory authority and “gives insufficient consideration to important facts, such as cost and grid reliability.”

Petition for Review

In the petition, the state attorneys general pledged to show that the final rule exceeds the EPA's statutory authority and otherwise is “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, and not in accordance with law.” The petition asks the court to declare unlawful and vacate the new EPA rule.

The lawsuit was filed by state attorneys general representing West Virginia, Indiana, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming.

EPA’s New Rule

The U.S. EPA published its Greenhouse Gas Standards and Guidelines for Fossil Fuel-Fired Power Plants on 9 May 2024 in the Federal Register. The final rule sets carbon dioxide (CO2) limits for new gas-fired combustion turbines and CO2 emission guidelines for existing coal-, oil-, and gas-fired steam generating units. As one of the points of contention by the state attorneys general, this rule aims to ensure that “all long-term coal-fired plants and base load new gas-fired plants control 90% of their carbon pollution,” as these are among the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions today.

The EPA stated that the emission guidelines for the longest-running existing coal units and performance standards for new base load combustion turbines are based on the use of carbon capture and sequestration/storage (CCS), which the EPA believes is “an available and cost-effective control technology that can be applied directly to power plants.”

According to the Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) for the final rule, it is expected to reduce 1.38 billion metric tons of CO2 systemwide through 2047 along with tens of thousands of tons of particulate matter (PM) 2.5, sulfur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen oxides (NOx), which are harmful air pollutants that are recognized by the EPA as dangers to public health.

In a response to 3E’s request for comments, the EPA stated that “because this is pending litigation, EPA has no further information to add.”

Analysis Implications

The current lawsuit is part of a bigger push against the new EPA rule. Lawmakers, for instance, have denounced the new regulation.

“With the latest iteration of the illegal Clean Power Plan 2.0 announced today, President Biden has inexplicably doubled down on his plans to shut down the backbone of America's electric grid through unachievable regulatory mandates,” said U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito.

A similar sentiment was expressed by Senator Capito during a hearing by the Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works, which was previously reported by 3E.

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