States, business groups line up to sue EPA over Clean Power Plan
The Environmental Protection Agency published its final rule requiring power plants to cut carbon emissions Friday, and opponents immediately responded with lawsuits challenging the Clean Power Plan, The Business Journals website reported.
The regulation requires power plants to cut their carbon emissions by 32 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. Some business groups fear that electricity costs will go up as power plants stop burning coal and instead rely more on wind and solar energy.
Coal producer Murray Energy Corp., 24 states and the Manufacturer’s Center for Legal Action filed lawsuits Friday against the EPA, contending that the agency exceeded its authority when it issued the rule.
Iowa is not involved in the lawsuit filed by West Virginia, Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Arizona and North Carolina.
“Manufacturers need abundant and reliable supplies of energy and reasonable and predictable policies that allow for continued investment and growth,” said Linda Kelly, senior vice president and general counsel for the National Association of Manufacturers. “This plan restricts resources and reduces reliability, while setting a dangerous precedent for future regulation of other sectors. Manufacturers can’t sit by while this administration makes it increasingly difficult to make things and create jobs in the United States.”
Other business groups, ranging from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to the National Federation of Independent Business, joined the manufacturers association in the lawsuit.
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