Dive Brief:
- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has filed a final brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia that signals the end of legal briefing for the case, defending the Clean Power Plan by pointing to the broad language Congress used in the Clean Air Act, Argus reports.
- EPA's filing marks the end of the briefing stage of the case. Oral arguments will be heard June 2; the court is working on an expedited basis, after the U.S. Supreme Court delayed implementation of the rule.
- According to the EPA, the Clean Air Act requires the agency to implement the "best system of emission reduction;" lawyers have focused on the word "system" to mean a broad range of measures across the industry.
Dive Insight:
Argus reports on EPA's final defense of the Clean Power Plan before the launch of oral arguments in June, with the discussion hinging on the "best system of emission reduction" and whether that means regulators can force generation shifting to less carbon-intensive energy sources.
"This broad statutory language shows that Congress was directing EPA to consider a wide range of measures to reduce emissions from sources," the agency said in both its initial defense of the law and the follow-up.
The Clean Power Plan is targeting a 32% reduction in carbon emissions from the power sector nationwide by 2030, but the Supreme Court stayed the rule's implementation in February while the Circuit court considers challenges.
EPA believes the rule will save 3,600 lives annually, prevent 90,000 child asthma attacks each year and save families almost $85 a year in energy bills. But opponents of the measure have been attacking the Clean Power Plan since before the rule was finalized in August 2015.
The rule's critics argue, among other points, that the EPA lacks authority to regulate plants as that is the jurisdiction of states. Federal officials, however, say the Clean Air Act provides "well-established authority" to address public health threats.
"For decades, a host of CAA regulatory programs have limited various pollutants emitted by these plants," the government argued in its first brief. “The [Clean Power Plan] reflects the eminently reasonable exercise of EPA’s recognized statutory authority. It will achieve cost-effective CO2 reductions from an industry that has already demonstrated its ability to comply with robust pollution-control standards through the same measures and flexible approaches."
While the court is working on an expedited schedule, the initial schedule for the Clean Power Plan must be pushed back. The EPA will be unable to enforce its September deadline for states to submit compliance plans or request an extension; absent enforcement from federal authorities, states may have to decide on their own whether to comply.
