In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s remarkable decision to stay implementation of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan, the rumblings heard across the nation emanating from the nation’s Capitol have deafened very little, if at all. As the EPA continues to press forward in its goal to reduce carbon emissions, some state representatives continue to resist with the same fervor and commitment they did when the plan first unfolded.
In mid-June, the EPA gave its stamp of approval on part of President Obama’s Clean Energy Incentive Program (CEIP), which would reward states with early credits for solar installations in low-income communities. On the whole, the CEIP is designed to provide states with early credit for taking certain actions to reduce carbon emissions before the Clean Power Plan would take effect. Those actions include solar, geothermal, and hydropower installations, and initiatives like wind farms or energy efficiency projects in low-income communities. This program, of course, will be optional and is not yet finalized. The EPA will take comments for 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register and hold a public hearing in Chicago on Aug. 3, 2016.
Opposing parties also have opinions on this initiative and continue to question the legitimacy and practicality of the Clean Power Plan in general. West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, for example, opined that “[s]tay means stay” and “[the] EPA’s continued work on its unlawful Power Plan amounts to wasted effort and money.” Others also chimed in, including Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe, who called the CEIP a “last-ditch effort to save the President’s legacy carbon mandates” and released a statement asking states to ignore the CEIP.
Morrisey and Inhofe are not alone in their recent efforts to stop any momentum the plan may be enjoying. Republican-controlled committees in the House and Senate recently pushed forward spending bills designed to choke off funding for climate change programs. The Senate bill would cut the EPA’s main air and water programs by roughly 10 percent, while the House bill would cut EPA’s funding from the $8.26 billion President Obama requested to $7.98 billion. Both received votes down party lines and both include riders to prohibit spending on numerous climate and environment programs, specifically the Waters of the U.S. rule and Endangered Species Act. Though, only the House bill would block Clean Power Plan work.
While it is unknown whether those bills will pass, the certainty of the Clean Power Plan’s future is almost without doubt. Procedurally, the still fractured and virtually paralyzed U.S. Supreme Court leaves open the door for the liberal-leaning lower court to issue a ruling in favor of the EPA. But, for now, the curtain remains undrawn and the backstage fraught with contempt.