EPA Power Plant Emissions Rules Survive Initial Court Challenge

West Virginia’s attorney general has lost the first round in his challenge to the newest federal power plant emissions rules.

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, for now, has let stand a set of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rules West Virginia and other states challenged.

In a three-page order Friday, the court declined to block rules intended to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from existing coal-fired power plants and new gas plants.

The court will still consider the case on the merits.

Electric utilities must reduce their carbon dioxide emissions by 90 percent or close coal plants by 2032. They can achieve the standard by converting the plants to burn gas and hydrogen or by capturing and storing the CO2. Neither technology has yet been proved on a commercial scale.

Attorney General Patrick Morrisey was the lead plaintiff in the EPA challenge, which he initiated last month.

In a statement, Morrisey said he plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Our position remains the same: this rule strips the states of important discretion while using technologies that don’t work in the real world,” he said.