Can EPA Still Cap CO2 Emissions After Ruling? AGs Split On Issue

The U.S. Supreme Court limited the federal government’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. However, the legal battle may not be over.

Eight state attorneys general, all Democrats, wrote Michael Regan, the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency late last month.

They urged him to issue limits for greenhouse gasses under another section of the Clean Air Act that allows the establishment of National Ambient Air Quality Standards.

They say that falls under the EPA’s authority and would not run afoul of the Supreme Court’s ruling in West Virginia v EPA. The justices ruled in June that the EPA may not regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act.

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and his Kentucky counterpart, Daniel Cameron, wrote to the EPA on Tuesday. They urged the agency to reject that approach.

Morrisey and Cameron were joined by 18 other Republican attorneys general.