What the proposal means and what’s next

Today, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt signed a proposed rule to repeal the Clean Power Plan.  Adopted under the Obama Administration, the Clean Power Plan set CO2 emissions targets for each state, with the goal of reducing nationwide carbon emissions from the electricity sector 32% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels. In its proposed repeal, the EPA argues that the Clean Power Plan overstepped agency authority to regulate the power sector under the Clean Air Act.

What’s next?

1. The EPA will accept public comments on the proposed rule for 60 days after it is formally published in the Federal Register. These comments will inform its final decision.

2. If/when the EPA finalizes the repeal of the Clean Power Plan, the agency will likely need to determine how to legally comply with its 2009 endangerment finding, which determined that greenhouse gases threaten the public health and welfare of current and future generations. This could come in the form of scaled-back regulations “that are applicable at and to an individual source.” The EPA has not yet determined what such future regulations would look like, but indicated that an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is forthcoming in the near future.

What are the impacts of the proposed repeal?

As noted in the 2017 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook, nationally, the United States had already achieved 75 percent of the Clean Power Plan’s emission reduction targets at the end of 2016.  Therefore, the repeal of this plan may not dramatically impact the emissions reductions on a national scale over the next decade—but it could certainly impact reductions achieved by particular states. Furthermore, the repeal of the Clean Power Plan creates uncertainty in the power sector from a regulatory and investment standpoint. The CEBN will continue to keep members posted on developments concerning the Clean Power Plan and opportunities to provide comments to the EPA. Not a CEBN member yet but want to hear more updates like this? Consider joining our network. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to keep up with the CEBN. Follow @L_Abramson on Twitter to hear more from Lynn.

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The Clean Energy Business Network (CEBN) works to advance the clean energy economy through policy, public education, and business support for small- and medium-size energy companies. Started in 2009 by The Pew Charitable Trusts, the CEBN is now a small business division of the Business Council for Sustainable Energy. The CEBN represents 3,000+ business leaders across all 50 U.S. states working with a broad range of clean energy and transportation technologies.