Press Releases
06/18/2019
ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG ANNOUNCES INTENTION TO SUE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OVER REPEAL OF CLEAN POWER PLAN
(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong announced today his intent to sue the Trump Administration to block the unlawful repeal of the Clean Power Plan.
"There is nothing affordable or clean about coal. The Trump Administration is taking another giant step backwards in protecting our planet. They are trampling on the Clean Air Act and ignoring administrative law to finalize this outrageous rule. Connecticut is in close coordination with states across the nation and we are prepared to take legal action to block this measure," said Attorney General Tong. "There is no serious debate—climate change is a severe threat and we ignore science at our own peril."
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today issued a final rule replacing the Clean Power Plan with its so-called Affordable Clean Energy "ACE" Plan which incentivizes continued use of coal-fired power generation and does nothing to promote clean energy. The ACE rule is a clear violation of the Clean Air Act and fundamental principles of administrative law. In determining what constitutes the best system of emission reduction, the EPA failed to adequately consider numerous critical factors and arbitrarily rejected emission guidelines already effectively used by other power plants to reduce carbon pollution. The rule further relies on pseudo-accounting gimmicks to understate the benefits of the Clean Power Plan and overstate the benefits of the ACE plan. Implementing the new rule also requires states to expend resources and time analyzing various coal efficiencies—a waste of state resources with zero benefit to Connecticut.
By the agency's own flawed analysis, the rule will result in next to no carbon emissions reductions, and even an increase in emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants in a number of states.
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Media Contact:
Elizabeth Benton
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