21 states sue Trump EPA over repeal of power-plant emissions rule
Twenty-one states led by New York are suing the Trump administration over the EPA's repeal of greenhouse-gas limits for coal and gas power plants.
WASHINGTON — Twenty-one states, led by New York, sued the Trump administration on Thursday over its repeal of rules limiting planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from coal and gas power plants, the Associated Press reports.
The coalition also includes Pennsylvania’s governor, the District of Columbia, New York City, Chicago and the city and county of Denver. The states argue “gutting one of the country’s most significant climate protections” will set the nation back decades and worsen the climate crisis.
The coalition is petitioning the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to review and strike down the repeal, arguing the EPA unlawfully abandoned the limits without weighing reasonable alternatives or the enormous health and climate costs. It also told the EPA it intends to sue over the agency’s failure to regulate pollution from many gas-fired power plants.
Attorney General Letitia James said the federal government was showing “callous disregard” for Americans’ health and the environment. “Dismantling these protections is a betrayal of American families, and the stakes are too high to allow this administration to once again put profits over people,” she said.
The EPA said on Thursday it does not comment on pending litigation. In announcing the repeal, it said the move would save industry more than $300 billion in costs and help “unleash” American energy.
The EPA announced the repeal last month, plus a separate step to stop future administrations regulating power-plant climate pollution — following its earlier revocation of the scientific “endangerment finding” underpinning US greenhouse-gas regulation.
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