Environmental Protection Agency

  This story has been updated.

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that it’s too early to intercede in a lawsuit challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed carbon dioxide limits for power plants.

The decision was handed down Tuesday, and the coalition of states involved have indicated they’ll petition for a rehearing, and will challenge the final rule.

  A lawsuit filed by Kentucky and several other states challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s carbon dioxide regulations could be decided “any day now.”

Chief Deputy Attorney General Sean Riley briefed a legislative committee on the lawsuit Thursday. He says the three judge panel hearing the oral arguments in April seemed to agree with the states on the technical merits of their argument.

Kentucky is on track to comply with the EPA’s upcoming federal regulations on greenhouse gas emissions—even if no further actions are taken.

The Union of Concerned Scientists released a report Wednesday outlining Kentucky’s progress in complying with the yet-to-be announced federal standard. It estimates that by 2020, the first year the state will have to meet greenhouse gas limits, Kentucky will have already cut its emissions to 113 percent of the goal.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has a new legal argument that he says will scuttle the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is urging states to delay creating their own plans to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed greenhouse gas regulations, in hopes legal action will force the EPA to jettison the rules.

  The federal government has released the nation’s first-ever rules on how to handle, store and dispose of waste from coal-fired power plants. The final iteration of the regulations has largely disappointed environmental groups—who hoped for more stringent rules. Industry groups were more optimistic, but largely said they would have preferred the Environmental Protection Agency not finalize the rules at all and leave the matter up to Congress. The EPA was choosing between two options, and chose to regulate coal ash as akin to household garbage, rather than hazardous waste.

  Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway is joining attorneys general in 11 other states in asking a federal appeals court to rule quickly in a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency.