Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton officially asked the EPA on August 20 to halt its broad plan to combat global climate change, at least while the legal challenges resolve themselves.
This demand comes in the face of the Obama administration's version of the Clean Power Plan revealed early this August. The plan seeks to stymie climate change by significantly cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions from US power plants.
The plan requires states to submit their preliminary compliance plans by early next year, and targets the 600 or so coal power plants still operating in the United States. Twenty of these plants are located in Paxton's home state of Texas.
The plan has seen several states particularly dependent on coal file lawsuits against the EPA. Paxton wants to give these suits a chance to play out before the EPA forces the states to comply. If the EPA denies his request, he is planning on filing his own suit.
"The Obama Administration and EPA are attempting to take over America's electrical grid through regulation and without legal authority and Texas plans to vigorously challenge EPA's 'power grab,'" says Paxton. "Affordable, reliable electricity is the foundation of the nation's economic prosperity, but it also means comfort and security for all American families."
The EPA responded by saying that it would vigorously defend its plan in court.
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