A three-judge panel for the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit tossed out the Trump EPA’s Affordable Clean Energy rule and sent it back to the agency. The court found EPA had too narrowly interpreted its authority to regulate emissions.
Bracewell’s Jeff Holmstead told E&E News that the court defeat was a “huge loss” for the Trump era. “It was not really unexpected, based on the panel and oral argument,” Holmstead said.
A challenge will likely have to wait until the Biden administration completes its own replacement rule, which would then face challenges at the DC Circuit before it could be heard before the high court, Holmstead added.