IN THE STATES
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt (R) this week dropped his appeal of a 10th Circuit Court dismissal of a lawsuit filed in June challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s carbon emissions standards for existing coal-fired power plants. The rule, which was finalized in early August, requires states to develop action plans to meet federally set, state-specific carbon emissions reduction goals. Pruitt has challenged the rule in the 10th Circuit and the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit alleging that the EPA is acting outside its authority in drafting the rule and requesting a stay of the rule. All suits filed against the rule at this point, however, have been dismissed as premature because the rule has yet to be published in the Federal Register, which is expected in mid- to late-October. Pruitt withdrew his appeal as it would not be decided until after rule is published, at which time he is likely to file a legitimate suit. “Because this Court denied Oklahoma’s stay motion, Appellees will promulgate a final rule regulating existing electric utility generating units within the next several months, prior to the time that this Court could address the merits of this appeal,” Pruitt wrote in his motion for voluntary dismissal.
