A “win” for Wisconsin now, not a win for clean air

Supreme Court has final
say on emission reduction

For now, preliminary claims of “victory” are coming from states that think they’ve beaten the EPA on tougher emission regulations.

From the group, Clean Wisconsin, Keith Reopelle says a stay issued by the U.S. Supreme Court this week on the regulations won’t mean much when the court finally rules on the legality of those regulations.

“In the long run, it probably would be a very minor setback,” Reopelle said, “because this really says nothing about the ultimate court decision on the merit of the Clean Power Plan.”

The so-called Clean Power Plan from the EPA calls for an emissions reduction by about a third in the next 15 years from mostly coal-fired power plants in Wisconsin.

Reopelle is among those who was shocked to hear the decision on emission regulations from mostly coal-fired power plants. He said the federal law is pretty clear, not only can the feds regulate air emissions, but under the act, it has an obligation to do so.