More Details Emerge On Repeal Of Obama’s “Clean Power Plan”

Team Trump seems utterly serious about killing the horrendous executive over-reach

(Washington Post)  The Trump administration plans to scrap former president Barack Obama’s signature plan for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions from the nation’s power plants, arguing that the previous administration overstepped its legal authority, according to a 43-page proposal obtained by The Washington Post.

The proposal, which is expected to be made public over the coming days, comes months after President Trump issued a directive instructing the Environmental Protection Agency to begin rewriting the controversial 2015 regulation, known as the Clean Power Plan, as part of a broader effort to obliterate his predecessor’s efforts to make combating climate change a top government priority.

In a copy of the proposed repeal, first reported by Bloomberg News, the EPA does not offer an alternative plan for regulating emissions of carbon dioxide, which the Supreme Court has ruled that the agency is obligated to do. Rather, the agency said it plans to seek public input on how best to cut emissions from natural-gas and coal-fired power plants.

First, the Supreme Court did not rule that the EPA was obligated to regulate carbon dioxide output, it (erroneously) stated that the EPA could do this under existing law. Second, any executive order/regulation can be done away with/changed when it is not specifically called for by Congressional legislation.

The Clean Power Plan directed every state to form detailed plans to reduce CO2 emissions from such sources as coal-fired power plants, with the goal of decreasing carbon pollution by about one-third by 2030, compared with 2005 levels. But the regulation has been a lightning rod since its inception.

Interestingly, no states, especially the Warmist led ones, have actually come up with viable plans that have submitted to the EPA at this time, as required. There are a bunch of “we’re thinking abouts”, and a few, like California, are going there own way. But no real plans. Except for the non-Warmist states, which said “piss off” and “our plan is to sue” and did.

So much of the dictatorial stain of Obama is being washed away.