Public Advocacy Groups Take Trump Administration to Court for Illegal Coal Plant Extension

(WASHINGTON -- July 24, 2025)  Today, nine public advocacy groups led by the Sierra Club and Earthjustice filed a petition for review at the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in response to the Department of Energy’s unlawful and unreasonable extension of the J.H. Campbell coal plant, and the department’s failure to respond to the groups’ earlier request for rehearing on the department’s emergency order.

Statement of Greg Wannier, Senior Attorney, Sierra Club: “The Trump administration’s extension of the J.H. Campbell plant has already harmed local Michigan communities, and now could raise energy costs for millions of Americans across the Midwest. We are more than halfway through the so-called ‘energy emergency’ the administration invented to justify its unlawful order, and as expected the grid has not needed Campbell around to provide reliable power, even during last month’s extreme heat. We are going to hold this administration accountable for the lies and myths it has and continues to spread, and take it to court to defend our communities.”

Statement of Shannon Fisk, Attorney and Director of State Electric Sector Advocacy, Earthjustice: “We are taking the Administration to court to stop its abuse of emergency powers and prevent further harm to our wallets and our health. It was the reasoned judgment of the utility, state regulators, the Michigan AG, and a wide array of ratepayer and environmental interests in Michigan that this old jalopy of a power plant should be retired. While the Administration might not like that fact, a fabricated energy emergency does not give them the authority to saddle Michiganders with the costs and pollution of a coal plant that the utility has already replaced with other resources. The only energy emergency is the one being created by this unprecedented power grab by federal authorities.”

Statement of Howard Learner, Executive Director & CEO, Environmental Law & Policy Center: “People and businesses in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and other Midwest states should not be forced to pay higher electricity bills for an uneconomic coal plant that is not necessary for reliable service. Consumers Energy does not want to run the almost-shut down J.H. Campbell plant. MISO says that the plant is not needed for reliability, and the MPSC confirms that there is no energy emergency. This order is unnecessary and will potentially cost consumers tens of millions of dollars on their utility bills. Why? DOE’s misguided ‘emergency order’ is akin to fake news.  Fossil fuel ideology here is trumping common sense.”

Statement of Derrell Slaughter, Michigan policy director, Climate & Energy, NRDC: “People in Michigan and across the Midwest should not be stuck paying the cost of a nonexistent ‘emergency’ with their health and their electric bills. The Campbell coal plant is out of date, costs more to operate than other electricity generation options, and is one of the worst polluters in the state. This petition is very much in line with the State of Michigan’s commitment to pursue a clean, affordable, and reliable grid that protects both ratepayers and public health.”

Statement of Danielle Fidler, Senior Attorney, Clean Air Task Force: “The intended retirement of the nearly 70-year old Campbell power plant is the product of the thoughtful collaboration and careful planning of Michigan's government, community groups, utilities, and grid operators, who have already shifted to a diverse set of generating resources that provide greater reliability at less cost and far less pollution. The administration's unlawful order forcing Campbell to continue running relies on the fake claim of an emergency that will serve only to needlessly raise electricity prices in the middle of summer and harm the lives of those in the path of its emissions. We will fight this unlawful power grab to protect ratepayers who are already benefiting from a more reliable, affordable, and cleaner energy system."

Statement of Ted Kelly, Director and Lead Counsel, U.S. Clean Energy at Environmental Defense Fund: We are going to court to stop the Trump administration's unlawful actions that are driving up power bills for customers and causing more toxic air pollution for people across Michigan and the Midwest. Michigan leaders, regional planners and utility executives spent years creating a plan to carefully close the J.H. Campbell coal plant and switch to cleaner, cheaper, reliable energy sources. Then the Trump administration upended those plans, with no discussion or input, by declaring an ‘energy emergency’ where none exists. Midwesterners shouldn’t have to bear the financial and health costs of the Trump administration’s arbitrary and unlawful actions.

Background

On May 23, the DOE issued an emergency order forcing the J.H. Campbell power plant to remain operational past its long-planned May 31 expiration date. The order falsely invokes emergency powers to upend the usual legal and regulatory decision-making process. The retirement, agreed to by the utility, state regulators, the Michigan Attorney General, and numerous ratepayer and environmental interests, had gone through a lengthy review process and was approved after state and regional entities confirmed that retirement would have no effect on grid reliability in the region. 

When operating, the Campbell plant was one of the largest sources of toxic pollution in Michigan, releasing many millions of pounds of dangerous pollution and over ten billion pounds of climate-harming carbon dioxide into the air each year in recent years. The plant also released roughly 100,000 pounds of water pollution into Lake Michigan every year, including 10,000 pounds of toxic metals. The Clean Air Task Force’s ‘Toll from Coal’ analysis estimates the plant is responsible for 44 premature deaths and 455 asthma attacks every year. 

According to the Chair of the Michigan Public Service Commission, keeping the plant online for even 90 days could cost close to $100 million because Consumers Energy had been winding down investments in the plant over the past four years. DOE’s order does not include any federal funding to keep the Campbell plant operational, and the additional costs associated with this extension may be passed onto consumers in Michigan and the Midwest.