Partnering with America’s Power, the National Mining Association filed a motion to stay the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) emissions guidelines under the Clean Air Act for greenhouse gas emissions from existing coal-fired electric generating units (also known as the Clean Power Plan 2.0) while the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit hears the case on the merits.
In the motion, the NMA is arguing that the EPA has once again regulated beyond its authority and unlawfully mandated generation shifting in violation of Supreme Court precedent in West Virginia v. EPA. The NMA believes it will likely succeed on the merits because “continuous 90% carbon capture and storage (CCS) by 2032 is unachievable for almost all power plants, has never been achieved at the level mandated by the Final Rule, and so is not adequately demonstrated.”
The NMA is also arguing that “[f]orcing a coal plant to shift to gas is even more clearly in conflict with West Virginia than the Clean Power Plan[.]” The association’s motion explains the rule’s immediate, irreparable harms to the coal industry if the final rule is not stayed.
The motion also asserts that a stay is necessary to prevent the Clean Power Plan 2.0 from jeopardizing the reliability of the nation’s electric grid. The association asked the D.C. Circuit to “stay the Final Rule, just as the Supreme Court stayed the Clean Power Plan years prior to holding the Plans approach unlawful.”
The NMA thanked CONSOL Energy Inc., NACCO Natural Resources Corp., Navajo Transitional Energy Co., Peabody Energy, Prairie State Generating Co. and the Western Fuels Association for supporting declarations.
