Clean Power Plan Scrutinized Through Lens of Supreme Court

Federal appellate judges grappled with how to evaluate the Obama administration’s carbon dioxide emissions limits for the power sector in light of recent Supreme Court decisions that endorsed the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate utilities while cautioning against reading the agency’s authority too broadly (West Virginia v. EPA, D.C. Cir. en banc, 15-1363, 9/27/16).

A 10-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit debated during more than seven hours of arguments Sept. 27 whether forcing utilities to shift from coal-fired generation to cleaner energy sources under the EPA’s Clean Power Plan ...