Experts Spar Over Whether ACE Litigation Will Resolve EPA GHG Authority

摘要

Clean Air Act experts are sparring over whether a looming lawsuit over EPA's final Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) power plant climate rule will ultimately result in a court decision that determines the scope of the agency's authority to regulate greenhouse gases from stationary sources. During a June 27 event hosted by Resources for the Future (RFF), industry attorney and Bush EPA air chief Jeff Holmstead argued that the limited scope of ACE - which would reduce GHGs at existing coal plants through narrow heat rate improvements made at the facility - is the most EPA can do under the constraints of its current statutory authority. As such, he predicted that the Supreme Court will uphold the rule in a way that sets clear terms the agency must follow in any GHG rule for stationary sources.