Court Rebuffs Government Objections to DTE Sierra Club Deal (1)

The Trump administration’s protests weren’t enough to derail a legal deal between the Sierra Club and DTE Energy Co. that will result in the closure of three coal-fired power plants.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on Thursday rebuffed the Justice Department’s efforts to sink the settlement, concluding the agreement between the Detroit-based energy company and environmentalists didn’t tread on the federal government’s turf or conflict with the design of the Clean Air Act, as the government alleged.

“The agreement in this case does none of these things, but accomplishes an enormous environmental benefit that ...