Court Kills Zombie Power Plant Case

How do you kill a zombie power plant lawsuit?  It’s easier than shooting it in the head.  You just grant the motions to dismiss. 

That’s what the Court of Appeals in Washington did today, issuing a one-paragraph order dismissing the whacky lawsuit brought by a handful of would-be coal-plant developers attacking EPA’s proposed carbon pollution standards for new power plants, in a case called Las Brisas Energy Center v. EPA.  EPA issued the proposal last April, is currently working through the public comments, and is expected to make a final decision soon.  But it hasn’t done anything final yet.  And so the Court succinctly ruled:  “The challenged proposed rule is not final agency action subject to judicial review.”

No doubt these guys will sue EPA over the final standards when they come out.  But this decision at least rejects their attempt to jump the gun.

For more background on the zombie lawsuit and zombie power plants, see my earlier post here.

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