States have unfairly been left in the dark by the Environmental Protection Agency regarding how the Supreme Court stay of the Clean Power Plan will affect the compliance deadlines in the rule, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) said in a Thursday evening letter to EPA Administrator to Gina McCarthy. “Whatever legal and policy differences we have on this rule, I hope we can agree that states deserve clarity from EPA on its plans and expectations following the stay,” Inhofe wrote.
The Clean Power Plan, carbon emissions standards for existing coal-fired power plants, was stayed by the Supreme Court in early February, delaying implementation of the rule until the high court either deems it constitutional or declines to hear the case against it. It is assumed that the rule, which required states to develop action plans to meet EPA-set emissions reduction targets, will go before the court in late 2017 or early 2018.
However, the regulation includes fixed deadlines, the first of which required states to either submit an action plan or a request for an extension by September 2016. The Supreme Court has ordered that all deadlines occurring during the stay be pushed back, but EPA has not made clear if the later deadlines will also be pushed.
In not giving states a clear idea what will be expected of them when, EPA is governing by fear, Inhofe says. “It is highly inappropriate for EPA to use the fear of potential deadline truncation to coerce states and stakeholders into continuing their resource-draining planning activities, particularly if those activities drive investment and planning decisions that lead to irreversible impacts on affected power plants and ratepayers alike, in direct contravention of the Supreme Court’s stay order,” the letter says.
Inhofe has requested that by March 31 EPA explain clearly how the Clean Power Plan deadlines will be treated after the stay.
