Bracewell’s Jeff Holmstead told E&E News that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is still likely to hold off on any formal action to regulate carbon emissions from power plants until the Supreme Court reaches its decision on the scope of authority the agency has under the Clean Air Act to promulgate such rules.
“There are other upcoming rules for conventional pollutants that may indirectly reduce carbon emissions, and I’m sure that EPA is moving forward with those,” Holmstead told E&E News, “but I would be very surprised if we see even a proposed rule to regulate carbon emissions from power plants until we get a ruling from the Supreme Court.”
EPA Administrator Michael Regan said that the agency would “continue to move forward” with regulations to limit carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants, despite this move by the Supreme Court that could have repercussions for the kind of regulation that would ultimately pass legal muster.