In re West Virginia

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals denied emergency petitions for extraordinary writ in which 15 states and Peabody Energy Corporation sought to prevent the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from moving forward with its Clean Power Plan. In early August, EPA released the prepublication version of the final Clean Power Plan rule, which regulates carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants. EPA has submitted the final rule for publication in the Federal Register and believes that it will be published by the end of October. In denying the petitions, the D.C. Circuit said that the petitioners had not satisfied the “stringent standards” for staying agency action.