The Trump administration’s abandonment of climate rules at the nation’s most polluting power plants is being challenged by 21 states, the District of Columbia and three major cities in a federal lawsuit that accuses the Environmental Protection Agency of brazenly shirking a legal obligation.
The coalition of Democratic attorneys general, governors and mayors argues in its petition to the court and an intent-to-sue letter to the EPA on Thursday that the administration’s recent repeal of rules that require coal- and gas-fired power plants to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions is illegal.
The power sector remains the largest source of climate pollution. The rules threatened to inhibit the administration’s plans to unleash expanded coal generation as well as unbridled production of gas-powered electricity. Their repeal is a major setback to what had been a long-running effort in the United States to “decarbonize” the power grid.
“Future generations are going to pay the price for our federal government’s callous disregard for Americans’ health and the environment,” said a statement from New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is leading the litigation effort. “This administration’s insistence on giving the nation’s biggest polluters a free pass will set our country back decades in the fight against climate change.”
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