SCOTUS Stumbles: EPA’s Power Plant Rule Is Inflicting Irreparable Harm

Last week, the Supreme Court issued an order that left many in disbelief. The Court denied several motions for stay (a legal pause) regarding the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Clean Power Plan (CPP) 2.0 rule after granting a stay of the original CPP in 2016 and elaborating on the Major Questions Doctrine in overturning the CPP on its merits in West Virginia v. EPA in 2022. The EPA rule, which we call CPP 2.0 because it's the second attempt at a CPP under section 111 of the Clean Air Act, hurts the reliability and affordability of electricity when both are already at risk. The EPA now requires existing coal and new natural gas power plants to significantly change their operations or shut them down entirely. CPP 2.0 is a costly and unlawful mandate for the unproven technology of carbon capture and sequestration/ storage (CCS).