Environmental Protection Agency lawyers are asking federal appeals court judges to cut off petitions to stay the agency’s climate rules while setting a briefing schedule that keeps the rules in play while President Obama is in Paris negotiating a global deal on emission cuts.
“The Clean Power Plan is on legally vulnerable ground, and the agency knows it. The EPA has been slow walking the publication of the Clean Power Plan in an attempt to delay the inevitable, and now is asking the federal court to delay next steps on the rule’s legal challenges until after the international climate talks in Paris,” said Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., who is chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee that oversees the EPA.
Wednesday’s scheduling motion was the first formal court response by the administration after 26 states, 15 trade groups and a number of others sued the EPA over its climate rules on Friday.
EPA lawyers suggested the outpouring of broad opposition might invite chaos if its briefing schedule is not upheld by the court.
“The purpose of this motion is to avoid the chaotic and duplicative briefing of stay motions that has sometimes occurred in recent cases involving review of significant EPA Clean Air Act rules,” the EPA motion reads.
Although the agency says it “appreciates” the consolidated effort by those that have sued, “EPA requests that the court impose a reasonable time limit on the filing of further stay motions” and impose a deadline.
The schedule EPA wants the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to agree to would begin by placing a choke point on the number of new lawsuits asking for a stay of the Clean Power Plan. All new suits have to be filed by Nov. 5, the lawyers demand.
The EPA then will respond to the arguments to stay the regulations — essentially putting it on hold — four weeks later on Dec. 3. Then interveners in the suit, parties that are supportive of those suing, will respond by Dec. 8.
While the briefing arguments are being filed in court, Obama will be busy negotiating a climate deal under the auspices of the United Nations in Paris, where U.S. commitments under any deal would hinge on the emission reductions made by the EPA’s Clean Power Plan. The Paris meeting begins Nov. 30.
States and others opposing the rules will be given until Dec. 23 to respond, after which the court will likely make a ruling. Meanwhile, the Paris deal is slated to be hashed out by Dec. 11.
The court doesn’t have to agree to the schedule and could choose to have briefings conclude sooner. Those opposing the Clean Power Plan will respond to Wednesday’s motion with their own suggestions, which likely will offer an expedited briefing schedule.
As the EPA filed its schedule request, Oklahoma filed a petition to stay the Clean Power Plan, after it filed a lawsuit against the regulation Friday. Getting the court to agree to a stay would require challengers such as Oklahoma to prove they will suffer irreparable harm from the plan.
Oklahoma says the rule causes irreparable harm by challenging the state’s sovereignty, which many states argue is an affront to the Constitution.
“The Section 111(d) rule is causing the state of Oklahoma to suffer ongoing irreparable injury to its sovereign and other interests,” Oklahoma argues. “Unless this court stays the rule, Oklahoma’s injuries will increase dramatically, as the state is forced to undertake implementation actions that will be difficult or impossible to reverse.”
