A federal appeals court is pushing back its review of litigation opposing a key part of the president’s climate change agenda.
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals said Friday that it is delaying the court briefing on a rule the coal industry says effectively bans the construction of any new coal-fired power plants in the country.
That means that states and industry fighting the regulations won’t finish making their initial arguments in the case until after President Obama has left office.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s New Source rule requires companies that want to build a new coal-fired power plant to meet a technological standard for reducing emissions that critics argue is not cost effective, nor feasible, on a large scale. The rule is the counterpart to the Clean Power Plan, which is the centerpiece of the president’s climate agenda and targets existing power plants.
The court’s briefing schedule was delayed at the request of the states and industry groups that initiated the lawsuit against the EPA. They argued that other groups that petitioned the agency through a separate process to reverse the regulation, but were denied in May, should be given extra time to file lawsuits.
Litigants will have until July 5 to file their appeals and until July 12 to ask the court to consolidate the lawsuits. After that, the court may consider setting a briefing schedule.
The change follows the recent decision by the appeals court to push back oral arguments on the Clean Power Plan from June until Sept. 27. The Supreme Court in February halted the Clean Power Plan until all litigation has concluded, including new petitions to the high court. The challenge to the Clean Power Plan is expected to be sent to Supreme Court, no matter how the appeals court rules.
