West Virginia v. EPA

Eleven other states, Washington, D.C., and New York City filed a motion to intervene in support of EPA, saying that they had an interest in the rulemaking moving forward to address climate change-related harms.

Twelve states filed a petition for review in the D.C. Circuit asking the court to review a settlement agreement between EPA and other states, governmental entities, and nonprofit organizations in which EPA agreed to propose and finalize a rule regulating greenhouse gas emissions from existing coal-fired power plants. EPA approved the settlement in 2011. The twelve states contended that the agreement was illegal to the extent that it compelled EPA to propose and finalize regulations under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants after EPA finalized regulation of hazardous air pollutants from power plants under Section 112 in 2012. EPA published its <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2014/06/18/2014-13726/carbon-pollution-emission-guidelines-for-existing-stationary-sources-electric-utility-generating">proposal</a> to regulate greenhouse gases from existing power plants in the June 18, 2014 edition of the Federal Register. It is the states’ position that regulation of sources under Section 112  bars regulation under Section 111(d).