D.C. Circuit Court Announces Format for Clean Power Plan Argument

(Washington, D.C. – August 17, 2016) The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear three hours and 38 minutes of argument, all on the same day, in the pending litigation about the Clean Power Plan.

The court had previously announced that the case would be heard en banc on September 27, 2016. 

Today the court issued an order detailing the format for the oral argument, which will begin at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time in Courtroom 20.

“The Clean Power Plan is firmly anchored in the law and in science, and we look forward to presenting a strong argument for these crucial clean air protections,” said EDF Attorney Martha Roberts. “The oral argument will undoubtedly help the judges to resolve the legal challenges to the Clean Power Plan without delay – which is vital considering the urgent threat of climate change to the health and security of all American communities.” 

EDF is a party to the case.

The Clean Power Plan is the single biggest step America has ever taken to address the threat of climate change. It established the first-ever national limits on carbon pollution from fossil-fuel fired power plants – the largest source of such pollution in the U.S. 

EPA estimates that, by 2030, the Clean Power Plan will:

• Reduce carbon pollution from existing power plants 32 percent below 2005 levels

• Save 3,600 lives annually

• Prevent 90,000 childhood asthma attacks annually

• Save American families almost $85 on their annual energy bill

A large and diverse group of Clean Power Plan supporters have filed briefs as parties to the case, including: a coalition of 18 States and seven cities and counties; a large group of power companies; three advanced energy trade associations representing more than 3,000 companies and organizations in the advanced energy sector; and a coalition of public health and environmental groups, including EDF. 

Amicus briefs in support of the Clean Power Plan were filed by hundreds of leaders across America with deep and diverse expertise. These supporters of the Clean Power Plan include:

• Leading businesses: Iconic, businesses that consume large quantities of energy,  strongly support expansive clean energy across the national grid, and employ tens of thousands in all regions of the country including Adobe, Amazon, Apple,  Google, IKEA, Mars, and Microsoft

• The nation’s leading legal, electricity grid, science and policy experts: Leon Billings and Tom Jorling (principal drafters of the 1970 Clean Air Act); former EPA Administrators William Ruckelshaus and William Reilly (who served under Presidents Nixon, Reagan and George H.W. Bush) represented by Harvard Law’s Jody Freeman and Richard Lazarus; the Institute for Policy Integrity represented by NYU Law Dean Emeritus Richard Revesz; former state energy and environmental officials including Larry Soward (Commissioner at the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality under Texas Governor Rick Perry); top climate scientists; and premier electric grid experts

• Business associations: 25 national and state business associations including American Sustainable Business Council, U.S. Black Chambers, Inc., and business associations in states such as West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio that are litigating against the Clean Power Plan

• Members of Congress: Current and former members of Congress, including 36 sitting Senators and 157 members of the House

• Consumers Union: The Consumers Union and other organizations addressing the economic benefits for consumers and low income ratepayers from expansive, low cost clean energy solutions

• Public health associations, national security experts, and faith communities: Public health experts such as the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics; foreign policy and national security experts including former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta; and 41 faith communities such as the National Council of Churches and the Catholic Climate Covenant

You can find more information about the Clean Power Plan, including all legal briefs in the case, on EDF’s website.