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The Sherburne County (Sherco) Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant owned by Xcel Energy and located in Becker, Minnesota, shown in 2016.(Photo: Tony Webster/Flickr/cc)
To Stave Off 'Climate Disaster,' 29 States and Major Cities Sue Trump EPA Over 'Dirty Power' Rule
"President Trump's attempt to gut our nation's Clean Power Plan is foolish. It's also unlawful."
Aug 13, 2019
A coalition of 22 states and seven major American cities sued the Trump administration Tuesday over its repeal of the Obama-era Clean Power Plan and a replacement that critics have dubbed the "Dirty Power" rule.
"My office, and this groundbreaking coalition of states and cities from across the nation, will fight back against this unlawful, do-nothing rule in order to protect our future from catastrophic climate change."
--New York Attorney General Letitia James
The lawsuit (pdf), filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, targets the administration's so-called Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule, which eases restrictions on coal plants imposed by the Obama plan, the first national policy to limit power plants' carbon emissions.
Shortly before Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist, signed the ACE rule in June, the administration attempted to bolster the case for its plan by, as Common Dreams reported, "effectively rescinding the EPA's own estimate that it could lead to 1,400 premature deaths per year."
Critics of the Trump plan warn of its anticipated effects not only on people but also the planet, which is rapidly warming as a result of human activity.
"The science is indisputable; our climate is changing. Ice caps are melting. Sea levels are rising. Weather is becoming more and more extreme," New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is spearheading the suit, said in a statement Tuesday. "Without significant course correction, we are careening towards a climate disaster."
"Rather than staying the course with policies aimed at fixing the problem and protecting people's health, safety, and the environment, the Trump administration repealed the Clean Power Plan and replaced it with this 'Dirty Power' rule," said James. "My office, and this groundbreaking coalition of states and cities from across the nation, will fight back against this unlawful, do-nothing rule in order to protect our future from catastrophic climate change."
James was joined by the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia as well as the chief legal officers of Boulder, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, and South Miami.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, in a statement Tuesday, specifically called out President Donald Trump for his administration's coal-friendly plan.
"[Trump's] fossil fuel protection plan fails everyone who stands for cleaner air. And it fails our economy, which depends on clean energy now more than ever."
--California Attorney General Xavier Becerra
"President Trump's attempt to gut our nation's Clean Power Plan is foolish. It's also unlawful," Becerra said. "His fossil fuel protection plan fails everyone who stands for cleaner air. And it fails our economy, which depends on clean energy now more than ever."
"We know what our energy future must look like, and we won't get there by following President Trump's misguided proposal," he added. "Because we're prepared to confront the climate crisis head-on, we're prepared to confront President Trump head-on in court."
The states and cities aren't alone in legally challenging the Trump rule, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
A coalition of environmental groups including the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Sierra Club, and the Environmental Defense Fund are expected to file their own legal challenge this week.
Two leading public health groups, the American Public Health Association and the American Lung Association, have already filed suit to block the Trump administration plan.
The cases could ultimately reach the U.S. Supreme Court--which, if the justices ruled in favor of Trump's EPA, could have sweeping implications for future efforts to implement federal restrictions on the energy industry.
"It would have a devastating effect on the ability of future administrations to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act," Richard L. Revesz, a professor at New York University who specializes in environmental law, told the Times. "It would essentially make it extremely difficult to regulate greenhouse gases effectively."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
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andrew wheelercoalenvironmentenvironmental defense fundepafossil fuelspollutiontrumpismxavier becerra
A coalition of 22 states and seven major American cities sued the Trump administration Tuesday over its repeal of the Obama-era Clean Power Plan and a replacement that critics have dubbed the "Dirty Power" rule.
"My office, and this groundbreaking coalition of states and cities from across the nation, will fight back against this unlawful, do-nothing rule in order to protect our future from catastrophic climate change."
--New York Attorney General Letitia James
The lawsuit (pdf), filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, targets the administration's so-called Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule, which eases restrictions on coal plants imposed by the Obama plan, the first national policy to limit power plants' carbon emissions.
Shortly before Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist, signed the ACE rule in June, the administration attempted to bolster the case for its plan by, as Common Dreams reported, "effectively rescinding the EPA's own estimate that it could lead to 1,400 premature deaths per year."
Critics of the Trump plan warn of its anticipated effects not only on people but also the planet, which is rapidly warming as a result of human activity.
"The science is indisputable; our climate is changing. Ice caps are melting. Sea levels are rising. Weather is becoming more and more extreme," New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is spearheading the suit, said in a statement Tuesday. "Without significant course correction, we are careening towards a climate disaster."
"Rather than staying the course with policies aimed at fixing the problem and protecting people's health, safety, and the environment, the Trump administration repealed the Clean Power Plan and replaced it with this 'Dirty Power' rule," said James. "My office, and this groundbreaking coalition of states and cities from across the nation, will fight back against this unlawful, do-nothing rule in order to protect our future from catastrophic climate change."
James was joined by the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia as well as the chief legal officers of Boulder, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, and South Miami.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, in a statement Tuesday, specifically called out President Donald Trump for his administration's coal-friendly plan.
"[Trump's] fossil fuel protection plan fails everyone who stands for cleaner air. And it fails our economy, which depends on clean energy now more than ever."
--California Attorney General Xavier Becerra
"President Trump's attempt to gut our nation's Clean Power Plan is foolish. It's also unlawful," Becerra said. "His fossil fuel protection plan fails everyone who stands for cleaner air. And it fails our economy, which depends on clean energy now more than ever."
"We know what our energy future must look like, and we won't get there by following President Trump's misguided proposal," he added. "Because we're prepared to confront the climate crisis head-on, we're prepared to confront President Trump head-on in court."
The states and cities aren't alone in legally challenging the Trump rule, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
A coalition of environmental groups including the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Sierra Club, and the Environmental Defense Fund are expected to file their own legal challenge this week.
Two leading public health groups, the American Public Health Association and the American Lung Association, have already filed suit to block the Trump administration plan.
The cases could ultimately reach the U.S. Supreme Court--which, if the justices ruled in favor of Trump's EPA, could have sweeping implications for future efforts to implement federal restrictions on the energy industry.
"It would have a devastating effect on the ability of future administrations to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act," Richard L. Revesz, a professor at New York University who specializes in environmental law, told the Times. "It would essentially make it extremely difficult to regulate greenhouse gases effectively."
From Your Site Articles
A coalition of 22 states and seven major American cities sued the Trump administration Tuesday over its repeal of the Obama-era Clean Power Plan and a replacement that critics have dubbed the "Dirty Power" rule.
"My office, and this groundbreaking coalition of states and cities from across the nation, will fight back against this unlawful, do-nothing rule in order to protect our future from catastrophic climate change."
--New York Attorney General Letitia James
The lawsuit (pdf), filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, targets the administration's so-called Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule, which eases restrictions on coal plants imposed by the Obama plan, the first national policy to limit power plants' carbon emissions.
Shortly before Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist, signed the ACE rule in June, the administration attempted to bolster the case for its plan by, as Common Dreams reported, "effectively rescinding the EPA's own estimate that it could lead to 1,400 premature deaths per year."
Critics of the Trump plan warn of its anticipated effects not only on people but also the planet, which is rapidly warming as a result of human activity.
"The science is indisputable; our climate is changing. Ice caps are melting. Sea levels are rising. Weather is becoming more and more extreme," New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is spearheading the suit, said in a statement Tuesday. "Without significant course correction, we are careening towards a climate disaster."
"Rather than staying the course with policies aimed at fixing the problem and protecting people's health, safety, and the environment, the Trump administration repealed the Clean Power Plan and replaced it with this 'Dirty Power' rule," said James. "My office, and this groundbreaking coalition of states and cities from across the nation, will fight back against this unlawful, do-nothing rule in order to protect our future from catastrophic climate change."
James was joined by the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia as well as the chief legal officers of Boulder, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, and South Miami.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, in a statement Tuesday, specifically called out President Donald Trump for his administration's coal-friendly plan.
"[Trump's] fossil fuel protection plan fails everyone who stands for cleaner air. And it fails our economy, which depends on clean energy now more than ever."
--California Attorney General Xavier Becerra
"President Trump's attempt to gut our nation's Clean Power Plan is foolish. It's also unlawful," Becerra said. "His fossil fuel protection plan fails everyone who stands for cleaner air. And it fails our economy, which depends on clean energy now more than ever."
"We know what our energy future must look like, and we won't get there by following President Trump's misguided proposal," he added. "Because we're prepared to confront the climate crisis head-on, we're prepared to confront President Trump head-on in court."
The states and cities aren't alone in legally challenging the Trump rule, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
A coalition of environmental groups including the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Sierra Club, and the Environmental Defense Fund are expected to file their own legal challenge this week.
Two leading public health groups, the American Public Health Association and the American Lung Association, have already filed suit to block the Trump administration plan.
The cases could ultimately reach the U.S. Supreme Court--which, if the justices ruled in favor of Trump's EPA, could have sweeping implications for future efforts to implement federal restrictions on the energy industry.
"It would have a devastating effect on the ability of future administrations to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act," Richard L. Revesz, a professor at New York University who specializes in environmental law, told the Times. "It would essentially make it extremely difficult to regulate greenhouse gases effectively."
From Your Site Articles
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