Eighteen States Join Case to Defend Clean Power Plan

WASHINGTON (Nov. 4, 2015) – The attorneys general of 18 states today launched a coordinated effort to defend the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan against legal challenge by Big Polluters and their allies seeking to block the first-ever limits on dangerous carbon pollution.

The coalition of states is joined by numerous cities around the country that also want to intervene in support of the centerpiece of President Obama’s agenda to combat climate change.

The following is a statement by David Doniger, a Natural Resources Defense Council attorney and director of its Climate and Clean Air program:

“The legal foundation for tackling power plants’ climate-changing pollution is strong and well established. We welcome this high-powered legal team of dedicated public servants who will help us defeat any and all efforts to block these vital climate and health safeguards. We need to stop power plants from spewing unlimited amounts of dangerous carbon pollution into our air. The EPA has the authority and the responsibility to act on climate under the Clean Air Act – one of the most successful public health and environmental laws in U.S. history.”

The states joining as interveners in the case, now before the federal appeals court here, are: New York, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington, Hawaii and Vermont. Cities also joining the legal defense effort include New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, South Miami and Boulder and the District of Columbia, as well as Broward County, Florida.