It took less than a year for the EPA to finalize the Affordable Clean Energy rule, which will allow older coal-burning plants to continue operating, in the Trump administration's most consequential environmental rollback accomplished to date.
"The Trump administration on Wednesday replaced former President Barack Obama’s effort to reduce planet-warming pollution from [existing] coal plants with a new rule that would keep plants open longer and undercut progress on reducing carbon emissions," reports Lisa Friedman for The New York Times.
The measure represents the Trump administration’s most ambitious effort to protect coal and, along with its rollback of vehicle pollution rules and its plan to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, ranks among its boldest moves to minimize the threat of global warming.
Both the Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule that freezes fuel economy standards at the year 2020 levels and the withdrawal from the Paris accord, while announced and initiated, have yet to be finalized.
"The Trump rule largely gives states the authority to decide how far, if at all, to scale back emissions, while the Obama plan would have set national emissions limits and mandated the reconstruction of power grids to move utilities away from coal," continues Friedman. The Clean Power Plan never took effect having been suspended by the U.S. Supreme Court in February 2016 after a bipartisan coalition of 24 states sued the Environmental Protection Agency in October 2015.
By Wednesday afternoon, the new regulation, known as the Affordable Clean Energy [ACE] rule, had already prompted a flurry of challenges, with attorneys general in California, Oregon, Washington State, Iowa, Colorado and New York saying they intended to sue to block the measure.
At issue is whether the Environmental Protection Agency has authority to set national restrictions on carbon emissions and force states to move away from coal, as assumed under Mr. Obama’s rule. Under the Trump administration’s interpretation, the agency only has authority over environmental infractions at individual plants, like chemical spills and improper handling of hazardous materials.
Far-reaching political consequences of court battle
"The new rule could face an uphill battle in court," reports Anna M. Phillips for the Los Angeles Times. "The Clean Air Act obligates the federal government to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, and the Trump administration may have difficulty convincing the courts that its rule is the best way to do that."
"If the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately upholds the administration’s approach to pollution regulation, it would shut down a key avenue that future presidents could use to address climate change," notes Friedman.
“Unlike the Clean Power Plan, ACE adheres to the Clean Air Act and gives states the regulatory certainty they need to continue to reduce emissions and provide a dependable, diverse supply of electricity that all Americans can afford," said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler.
The rule is clearly a boon for the coal industry in the sense that federal regulation is greatly relaxed, if not essentially removed, but it still must deal with market forces, i.e., competition from natural gas and renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, which have resulted in the shuttering of more coal plants than under the Obama administration, and political efforts from environmental and public health opponents such as the recently announced Beyond Carbon campaign, launched by a $500 million donation from Bloomberg Philanthropies.
The ACE rule, which was submitted on June 19 to the Federal Register, becomes effective 60 days after it is published in the register.
Multi-media coverage
- NPR: Jeff Brady reports on All Things Considered on Wednesday afternoon.
- PBS Newscast: Juliet Eilperin, who reported with Brady Dennis on the rule finalization for The Washington Post, was interviewed on the PBS NewsHour by Amna Nawaz on Wednesday evening.
Related in Planetizen:
-
'Affordable Clean Energy Rule' Proposed to Replace Clean Power Plan, August 22, 2018
-
Coal Power Plants to Retire Faster Under Trump, May 15, 2018
-
Trump Administration to Repeal Obama's Clean Power Plan, October 9, 2017
-
Trump Targets Obama's Signature Environmental Rule, the Clean Power Plan, February 23, 2017
-
Supreme Court Puts Obama's Key Climate Initiative on 'Hold', February 10, 2016
Read the full story: E.P.A. Finalizes Its Plan to Replace Obama-Era Climate Rules
'Affordable Clean Energy Rule' Proposed to Replace Clean Power Plan
On Tuesday, EPA released its new rule to regulate emissions from existing power plants, essentially leaving it to the states to determine appropriate emissions levels rather than setting actual standards each state has to meet like the current rule.
A Win for ‘Keep it in the Ground’
Coal mining in Wyoming will take a major hit as a result of a U.S. Department of Interior plan to cease future leasing of coal mines in the nation's most productive coal mining basin. The decision casts a spotlight on the presidential election.
The Far-Reaching Consequences of Remaking the Mercury Emissions Rule
The EPA intends to review the rulemaking process behind the mercury rule, the subject of a landmark Supreme Court ruling in 2015, to place more value on a rule's compliance cost to industry and less to its beneficial impact on human health.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Chicago breaks ground on $3 billion megadevelopment
The new neighborhood, titled Foundry Park, will one day host 3,700 residences.
Satanic Place Names
From streams and lakes to valleys and canyons, I mapped more than 1,000 places named after the Devil.
California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO resigns after $600,000 scandal
Under Ian Choudri, the authority used taxpayer dollars to fund first class flights and trips to nightclubs.
Want to study the Missouri River? Soon, you may need unanimous approval from 10 states
Legislation would require 10 governors’ permission to study or build projects moving water outside the basin.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority