Washington — 21 States, Cities Sue EPA Over Emissions Repeal

Twenty-one states and a coalition of cities sued the Trump administration Thursday over the Environmental Protection Agency's repeal of greenhouse gas limits on coal- and gas-fired power plants, according to the Associated Press, via The Guardian.

The coalition is petitioning the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to challenge the EPA's power plant rule.

Who Is Suing the EPA?

New York leads the 21-state coalition, the AP reported. Pennsylvania's governor, the District of Columbia, New York City, Chicago, and the city and county of Denver have also joined the suit.

What Rules Did the EPA Repeal?

The EPA announced last month it was revoking a Biden-era rule limiting climate pollution from power plants, according to the AP. The agency also took what it called a separate but related step to bar future administrations from regulating climate pollution from the power sector.

What Does the Coalition Argue?

The states and cities say the repeal is "gutting one of the country's most significant climate protections" and will set the nation back decades, the AP reported. New York Attorney General Letitia James said the federal government is showing "callous disregard" for Americans' health and the environment. "Dismantling these protections is a betrayal of American families, and the stakes are too high to allow this administration to once again put profits over people," James said in a statement cited by the AP.

How Has the EPA Responded?

The EPA said Thursday it does not comment on pending litigation, according to the AP. When it announced the repeal last month, the agency said the move would save industry more than $300 billion in costs and would "unleash" American energy. EPA Assistant Administrator Aaron Szabo said in September the repeal would let utilities "make the best decision for the ratepayers based on cost and cost savings, instead of being required to shut down facilities," the AP reported.

By the Numbers

• 21 states are party to the lawsuit, led by New York.
• $300 billion+ in industry savings the EPA says the repeal will generate, per the agency's own announcement.

What Happens Next in the Lawsuit?

The case now sits with the D.C. Circuit, where the coalition is asking judges to review the EPA's repeal. Power plants that burn fossil fuels remain a major source of planet-warming pollution, the AP noted. No court date was given in the available reporting.

The dispute centers on a familiar divide: the EPA frames the repeal as cost relief and energy expansion for utilities and ratepayers, while the state and city coalition frames it as a rollback of protections against greenhouse gas emissions tied to the climate crisis. Both positions, as laid out in the AP's reporting, will now be tested in federal court.