SCOTUS Halts EPA’s Illegal Job-Killing Power Plan

The West Virginia attorney general is confident the Supreme Court could ultimately rule the Clean Power Plan by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is illegal.

With the court staying the regulations, an inference could be drawn that the same shall not be implemented until a decision is arrived on its legality. The Court’s recent decisions had hinted that the Clean Power Plan might meet with disfavor among the justices.

The power plant regulations seek a nationwide 32 percent reduction in carbon emissions from power plants by 2030.

Although the compliance period doesn’t begin until 2022, most states have already begun preparing.

The Obama administration did not consult these states and try to find some common ground, a reasonable point between concern for the environment and paychecks.

“At the end of the day, the only decision that matters is what he decides he wants the Virginia plan to look like”, said Will Cleveland, a staff attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center.

The Supreme Court essentially favoured 29 states and players from the energy industry who filed a lawsuit accusing Obama’s administration of overstepping its authority and intruding into the rights of individual states to determine their policies on greenhouse gases. “Our coalition of states and local governments will continue to vigorously defend the Clean Power Plan -which is critical to ensuring that necessary progress is made in confronting climate change”.

“The President’s Clean Power Plan has major potential for devastation, not the least of which includes killing thousands of jobs and raising electricity prices for American families”. While many were surprised by the ruling, others say it makes sense that controversial plan ended up in the Supreme Court. “This a legal decision that says, ‘Hold on until we review the legality.’ We are very firm in terms of the legal footing here”.

“This gives us a chance now if we can find the technology”, said Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, . “As the EPA has said, while litigation proceeds, they’re going to continue to work with states that choose to continue plan development, and will prepare the tools that those states will need”.