first published week of: 02/01/2016
The Supreme Court is being asked to make a quick decision on another of President Obama's far-reaching regulations and to put on hold climate-change rules that would force a 32% cutback in carbon emissions by 2030.
The Supreme Court is being asked to make a quick decision on another of President Obama's far-reaching regulations and to put on hold climate-change rules that would force a 32% cutback in carbon emissions by 2030.
Lawyers for West Virginia, Texas and 24 other mostly Republican states filed an emergency appeal Tuesday night with Chief Justice John G. Roberts that calls Obama's plan an "unprecedented power grab by the Environmental Protection Agency that seeks to reorder the nation's energy grid."
In particular, they say the Clean Power Plant rule, adopted last year, would force many states to shut down older coal-burning power plants and switch to wind and solar power.
The West Virginia-Texas state coalition urged Roberts and the high court to issue an order that puts the Obama initiative on hold for several years while its legality is fought out in the lower courts. They insist the 1970s Clean Air Act did not authorize a broad regulatory attack on climate change.
How the high court responds to the emergency request could prove crucial to both sides. If the justices agree with the state challengers, it would halt EPA's enforcement of its most significant climate change initiative until after Obama leaves office. continued…