The US Supreme Court has halted the Environmental Protections Agency’s power plan while litigation will continue in Washington DC. The Clean Power Plan "is stayed pending disposition of the applicants’ petitions for review in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit," according to a one-page order from the court.
A bipartisan coalition of 29 states and state agencies, led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey challenged the plan arguing that the EPA's rule fundamentally changes the nation's energy policy in violation of federal law.
The D.C. Circuit Court will hear oral arguments on the merits of the states' case on June 2. A final ruling from that court might not come for months.
Texas and West Virginia challenged the EPA's power plan on Oct. 23, 2015, the day it was published. Those joining Attorney General Paxton and West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey in urging the U.S. Supreme Court to immediately halt the EPA's unlawful power plan include: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming, along with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, Mississippi Public Service Commission, North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality.
The coalition requested a halt to the Power Plan on Jan. 26.
