Dive Brief:

• The governors of two coal-dependent states they will seek more time to comply with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan, after being hit with sharp increases to emissions limits in the final rule, E&E Publishing reports. 
• The emissions reduction goal for North Dakota rose from 11% to 45% in the final rule, and Wyoming's rose from 19% to 44%.
• While states are lining up to challenge the new regulations in court, as will Wyoming and North Dakota, the two have also indicated they want to work with the federal government and develop compliance strategies.

Dive Insight:

E&E Publishing interviewed Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead (R) and North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple (R) about how their states will deal with Clean Power Plan limits they say are impossible to meet in the required time. Both states will file legal challenges, but both are also interested in working to reduce emissions and will develop their own strategies.

"We know already, no matter how hard we try, there is no way that we can achieve the 45% reduction in the time frame that they're talking about," Dalrymple said. 

Both governors say they were shocked at the difference between draft and final reductions targets. "To me, to come to be that far off would suggest shoddy work," Mead said. Wyoming's mineral-rich Powder River Basin also supplies roughly 40% of the nation's coal, contributing about $2-3 billion annually in taxes to the state's economy. 

Last week, Dalrymple and more than a half dozen energy executives met with acting EPA air chief Janet McCabe to query how the targets rose so significantly. The agency has reportedly signaled it will allow an additional two years to develop state plans if a state can prove it is making progress.

States are waiting for the final regulations to be published in the Federal Register, at which point observers expect lawsuits to be filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Because of the magnitude and impact of the issues, many expect the President Obama's Clean Power Plan to ultimately wind up in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. The Clean Power Plan calls for a collective 32% reduction in carbon emissions below 2005 levels by 2030.