The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit directed EPA to start over with a new regulatory approach after finding that the agency's Affordable Clean Energy rule failed to provide adequate environmental and public health protections.
Experts across the spectrum agree that the Trump administration's Affordable Clean Energy Rule, which replaced the Clean Power Plan, doesn't pass the test on the basis of critical science, industry experience, or technological feasibility.
When EPA last summer unveiled its proposed replacement for the Clean Power Plan, the draft blueprint came attached with a big add-on: a dramatic easing of air pollution permitting requirements for power plant upgrades. But as the agency barrels toward final release of the Affordable Clean Energy rule by the end of this month, that change could be jettisoned, according to observers.
