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The states & the companies fighting ag Obama's Clean Power Plan
On August 5, sixteen states requested that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency stay the final Clean Power Plan rule. Led by West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, the group of states want the rules to be placed on hold until their lawsuits, challenging the legality of the EPA using Section 111(d) of the Clean Air to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, are settled.
The states that joined in the request are:
Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
Indiana
Kansas
Louisiana
Nebraska
Ohio
Oklahoma
South Carolina
South Dakota
Utah
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Kentucky
http://www.energyandpolicy.org/states-file-stay-against-the-clean-power-plan
The states that joined in the request are:
Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
Indiana
Kansas
Louisiana
Nebraska
Ohio
Oklahoma
South Carolina
South Dakota
Utah
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Kentucky
http://www.energyandpolicy.org/states-file-stay-against-the-clean-power-plan
Lawyers from coal-dependent states, led by West Virginia, are challenging President Obama’s Clean Power Plan. Joining their effort is an army of industry-funded law firms that specialize in fighting the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Together, they will argue that the EPA does not have any authority under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act to issue the carbon regulations; they will also contest the legality of the “fence line” used to set state emission targets.
Yet, buried in coverage of the litigation is the fact that the coalition suing the EPA is connected to some of the largest electric utility companies in the country – and many have purposefully kept themselves at arms’ length so that their customers never know they are funding lawyers who are working to stop one of President Obama’s main pillars to fight climate change. Policymakers, regulators, and customers should know what electricity companies are secretly working together with coal companies to sue the EPA.
...Here are some of the companies that fund law firms known to be working against the Clean Power Plan:
Bracewell & Giuliani’s Electric Reliability Coordinating Council:
• Ameren
• Arch Coal
• DTE Energy
• Duke Energy
• Energy Future Holdings
• Southern Company
Hunton & Williams’ Utility Air Regulatory Group:
• American Electric Power
• Edison Electric Institute
• Duke Energy
• Energy Future Holdings
• Southern Company
Troutman Sanders:
• Alpha Natural Resources
• Arch Coal
• Cloud Peak Energy
• Energy Future Holdings
• National Mining Association
• Peabody Energy
• Southern Company
Sidley Austin:
In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in American Electric Power v. Connecticut that corporations cannot be sued for greenhouse gas emissions under federal common law, because the Clean Air Act delegates the management of carbon dioxide emissions to the EPA. Peter Keisler, a partner at Sidley Austin, argued on behalf of the petitioners:
• American Electric Power
• Cinergy Company
• Southern Company
• Xcel Energy
Read full article here~
http://littlesis.org/maps/872-lawyers-suing-the-epa-over-clean-power-plan
Together, they will argue that the EPA does not have any authority under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act to issue the carbon regulations; they will also contest the legality of the “fence line” used to set state emission targets.
Yet, buried in coverage of the litigation is the fact that the coalition suing the EPA is connected to some of the largest electric utility companies in the country – and many have purposefully kept themselves at arms’ length so that their customers never know they are funding lawyers who are working to stop one of President Obama’s main pillars to fight climate change. Policymakers, regulators, and customers should know what electricity companies are secretly working together with coal companies to sue the EPA.
...Here are some of the companies that fund law firms known to be working against the Clean Power Plan:
Bracewell & Giuliani’s Electric Reliability Coordinating Council:
• Ameren
• Arch Coal
• DTE Energy
• Duke Energy
• Energy Future Holdings
• Southern Company
Hunton & Williams’ Utility Air Regulatory Group:
• American Electric Power
• Edison Electric Institute
• Duke Energy
• Energy Future Holdings
• Southern Company
Troutman Sanders:
• Alpha Natural Resources
• Arch Coal
• Cloud Peak Energy
• Energy Future Holdings
• National Mining Association
• Peabody Energy
• Southern Company
Sidley Austin:
In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in American Electric Power v. Connecticut that corporations cannot be sued for greenhouse gas emissions under federal common law, because the Clean Air Act delegates the management of carbon dioxide emissions to the EPA. Peter Keisler, a partner at Sidley Austin, argued on behalf of the petitioners:
• American Electric Power
• Cinergy Company
• Southern Company
• Xcel Energy
Read full article here~
http://littlesis.org/maps/872-lawyers-suing-the-epa-over-clean-power-plan
A recent article in Forbes, however, claims it unlikely they'll prevail in their fight against Obama's plan. That's the good news. The bad news is the Clean Power Plan proposed just makes fracking the big winner over coal, acc to the article~
Despite Lawsuits, Even Coal Country Will Comply With The Clean Power Plan
Forbes
8/17/15
....Big Snip...
....“Natural gas is the big winner,” says Rob Barnett, analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence. “Coal is definitely the loser. To the extent that coal is less of a force, it is death by a thousand cuts.”
Despite the huffing and puffing, even some of the biggest coal-consuming states are in good shape to meet the carbon requirements. The actual rule sets forth a series of “building blocks” that allow the states to pick and choose their paths — anything from improving heat rates to fostering renewables to trading credits.
For what it is worth, West Virginia sits atop the Marcellus Shale formation, which is already contributing mightily to the state’s revenues. WV Energy Secretary Huffman says that the state has plans to build modern gas-fired plants, although his concern is over how quickly they could replace more than 3,800 megawatts of still-existing older coal-fired electricity. FirstEnergy FE +0.00% Corp. and American Electric AEP +0.00% Power have already begun retiring coal plants there.
Kentucky, meanwhile, is on a similar track, with PPL PPL -0.45% Corp.’s Kentucky Utilities shutting down coal plants and replacing them with those fired by natural gas. Now, a municipally-owned utility, Glasgow Electric Plant Board, says it will use energy storage to reduce its carbon emissions by 25 percent. The Sunverge devices will capture power from the electric grid at night and release it when demand peaks.
At the same time, at least one Kentucky town is asking its congressional representatives to sign on to Obama’s plan — and to take the financial help to rebuild that community. Whitesburg wants to use the millions of dollars that the region would receive to clean up coal sites there, and to create new jobs in doing so....
Read full article, really interesting, here~
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kensilverstein/2015/08/17/despite-lawsuits-even-coal-country-will-comply-with-the-clean-power-plan/2/
Forbes
8/17/15
....Big Snip...
....“Natural gas is the big winner,” says Rob Barnett, analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence. “Coal is definitely the loser. To the extent that coal is less of a force, it is death by a thousand cuts.”
Despite the huffing and puffing, even some of the biggest coal-consuming states are in good shape to meet the carbon requirements. The actual rule sets forth a series of “building blocks” that allow the states to pick and choose their paths — anything from improving heat rates to fostering renewables to trading credits.
For what it is worth, West Virginia sits atop the Marcellus Shale formation, which is already contributing mightily to the state’s revenues. WV Energy Secretary Huffman says that the state has plans to build modern gas-fired plants, although his concern is over how quickly they could replace more than 3,800 megawatts of still-existing older coal-fired electricity. FirstEnergy FE +0.00% Corp. and American Electric AEP +0.00% Power have already begun retiring coal plants there.
Kentucky, meanwhile, is on a similar track, with PPL PPL -0.45% Corp.’s Kentucky Utilities shutting down coal plants and replacing them with those fired by natural gas. Now, a municipally-owned utility, Glasgow Electric Plant Board, says it will use energy storage to reduce its carbon emissions by 25 percent. The Sunverge devices will capture power from the electric grid at night and release it when demand peaks.
At the same time, at least one Kentucky town is asking its congressional representatives to sign on to Obama’s plan — and to take the financial help to rebuild that community. Whitesburg wants to use the millions of dollars that the region would receive to clean up coal sites there, and to create new jobs in doing so....
Read full article, really interesting, here~
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kensilverstein/2015/08/17/despite-lawsuits-even-coal-country-will-comply-with-the-clean-power-plan/2/
