Abby L. Harvey
GHG Monitor
6/5/2015
The Environmental Protection Agency early this week sent its proposed carbon emissions standards for existing coal-fired power plants to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review. The rule, which would require states to develop plans to meet federally set emissions reduction goals, was initially due to be finalized this week but an extension in the public comment period granted last fall resulted in a delay. An updated timeline posted on the OMB’s website suggests that the rule will be finalized in August. In a statement this week, EPA spokeswoman Liz Pruchia said, "The draft final rule takes into account the unprecedented input we received on the proposed plan, including the 4.3 million comments that were submitted to the agency during the 6-month public comment period. This vital input is giving the agency the opportunity to address a wide range of issues in the draft final rule that will deliver a clean, affordable and reliable electricity supply, drive American innovation and American jobs, and that will demonstrate U.S. leadership within the international community.”
The proposed regulation, dubbed the Clean Power Plan, has been a source of controversy since it was proposed in early June 2014. Lawsuits have been filed against the proposed rule, and more are likely to be filed after its finalization. Congress has made a number of attempts to halt the regulation through legislation, though these attempts have not been successful thus far. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has launched a campaign to convince the nation’s governors to simply refuse to comply with the rule once it has been finalized. Areas which have raised concern among opponents of the rule include the use of “outside the fence” measures in the development of state targets and the “glide path” of the regulations, which require a certain amount of reductions to occur before the end target in 2030. Legal questions regarding EPA’s authority to regulate carbon under section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act have also been raised and are likely to be brought to court following the regulation’s finalization.
