EPA Proposes Replacement To Clean Power Plan

Earlier this week, on August 21, President Trump's Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") proposed a rule pursuant to Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act ("CAA") intended to replace the embattled Clean Power Plan ("CPP") issued by President Obama's administration. The CPP is a comprehensive regulation designed to significantly reduce carbon emissions from fossil fuel power plants. Just six months after the CPP became final, the Supreme Court took the unusual step of staying implementation of the rule pending the outcome of legal challenges from several states and industry groups. Many of these challenges remain in litigation. The Trump Administration has criticized the CPP as "overly prescriptive and burdensome" and has, at times, discussed an outright repeal of the rule.