EPA’s Motion Reinforces the Urgent Need to Limit Pollution from Power Plants

The EPA filed a motion with the D.C. Circuit today for partial stay of issuance of the mandate in American Lung Association et al. v. Environmental Protection Agency

“Americans urgently need greater protection from dangerous power plant pollution, which damages our climate and exposes communities across our nation to lethal soot and smog. Following the D.C. Circuit’s decision striking down the Trump administration’s unlawful ACE Rule, the EPA has a clean slate to develop safeguards that meaningfully reduce the power plant smokestack pollution that harms human health and damages our economy, reflect the realities of today’s power sector, and provide Americans with the protections that the Clean Air Act requires.

“There are currently no nationwide limits on climate pollution from existing fossil fuel power plants, and EPA must get to work developing new protections. More than 60% of existing coal-fired capacity across the nation lacks modern controls for deadly particulate and smog-forming pollution. At the same time, clean energy is widely available and being deployed at scale. The top ten state producers of wind energy are Texas, Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, California, Illinois, North Dakota, Colorado, Minnesota and Oregon – creating made-in-the-USA clean energy and high-quality jobs for communities across our country.”

“Reducing deadly pollution from power plants, together with building back a strong America with clean energy, will protect the health of our communities, help stabilize the climate, and create thousands of secure American jobs.”

- Ben Levitan, senior attorney for Environmental Defense Fund