EPA Greenhouse Gas Regulations Upheld
On June 26, the DC Court of Appeals ruled in Coalition for Responsible Regulation v. EPA that the Environmental Protection Agency was “unambiguously correct” when it set limits on greenhouse gas emissions.
The 82-page decision dismissed more than 60 lawsuits filed by corporations, states, and industry groups seeking to stop federal regulations limiting industrial and automotive emissions.
For your reference, a roundup of commentary and analysis on the ruling:
Federal Court of Appeals Upholds U.S. EPA Greenhouse Gas Regulations (Warner Norcross & Judd):
“The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has dismissed challenges by state and industry groups to four U.S. EPA rules that form the basis of EPA’s regulation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under the Clean Air Act. In the June 26 opinion, the Court denied challenges to EPA’s ‘endangerment finding,’ i.e., EPA’s conclusion that GHGs pose a health risk that should be regulated under the Clean Air Act.” Read on»
D.C. Circuit Decision on EPA Greenhouse Gas Rules Emphasizes Importance of Massachusetts v. EPA (Lane Powell PC):
“Throughout the opinion, the court references not only the plain language of the Clean Air Act, but also emphasizes the important role played by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2007 decision in Massachusetts v. EPA in determining the outcomes. The court repeatedly cites to Massachusetts not only as the foundational support for EPA’s initial determination to regulate greenhouse gases as an air pollutant under the Clean Air Act, but also in disposing of several challenges.” Read on»
“The EPA’s greenhouse gas regulations are certain to be appealed to the United States Supreme Court, but bolstered by its success in the intermediate appellate court, EPA will continue to promulgate further greenhouse gas regulations, like its recently proposed New Source Performance Standards which, if adopted, will require new fossil fuel-fired electric generating units to achieve a CO 2 emission rate equivalent to that of a modern natural gas combined cycle facility, and set emissions limits of 1000 lb CO 2/MWh.” Read on»
Easy Cases Make No Law (We Hope): The D.C. Circuit Upholds EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Regulations (Foley Hoag LLP):
“I’m left with two conclusions. The first, regarding GHG regulation itself, is that, as noted in E&E Daily today, the ball is now squarely back in Congress’s court. Of course, now Congress knows for certain that the default is GHG will be regulated if Congress does not act…The second is that I wish this case had never been brought. I understand that the stakes were high, but there was always only going to be one outcome.” Read on»
D.C. Circuit Rebuffs Challenges to EPA’s Climate Change Regulations (Morrison & Foerster LLP):
“While the decision is a clear victory for the EPA, ultimately the issues are likely to be decided by the Supreme Court. And with further attempts in Congress to reverse EPA’s actions pending, the states remain sharply divided regarding federal attempts to address global warming.” Read on»
We’ll add additional updates as they come in.
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