For Immediate Release:
Tuesday, January 19, 2021
Contact:
Laura Brewer (919) 716-6484
(RALEIGH) Attorney General Josh Stein today released the following statement after an appeals court ruled that the Trump administration broke the law when it repealed and replaced the Clean Power Plan. The Trump administration’s replacement, the Dirty Power Rule, would have allowed more greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. Attorney General Stein is part of a coalition of 23 attorneys general suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over the rule.
“I’m incredibly proud of this important win and of our larger efforts to protect the environment and people and economy of North Carolina over the past four years, including a number of actions today,” said Attorney General Josh Stein. “Again and again, I’ve been forced to push the EPA to meet its mission to protect people’s health and the environment. I will continue to do everything in my power to safeguard North Carolina’s air and water and to combat the climate crisis for the benefit of ourselves, our children, and grandchildren.”
Attorney General Stein continues to protect our environment by challenging a series of actions the Trump administration is taking this week that would damage the air we breathe and the water we drink. This week, Attorney General Stein has:
- Sued the EPA over its new cost-benefit rule that stacks the odds in favor of polluters. The new rule would hurt the agency’s ability to effectively evaluate the health benefits of environmental protections – one of the fundamental ways the EPA serves Americans.
- Filed a lawsuit against the “censored science rule,” which would require the EPA to suppress leading scientific studies in its decision-making. The censored science rule violates a clear congressional mandate to use the best available science to make decisions regarding people’s health and safety.
- Filed a motion for summary judgment in his lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s rollback of federal Endangered Species Act protections.
- Challenged two final rules that are expected to drastically reduce the amount of critical habitat protected under the federal Endangered Species Act.
- Challenged the Trump administration’s final rule attempting to block future regulation of industries responsible for more than half of all greenhouse gas emissions from stationary sources, including emissions from the oil and gas industry.
More on Attorney General Stein’s work to protect the environment:
- Attorney General Josh Stein Files Motion For Summary Judgment in Waters of the United States Case
- Attorney General Josh Stein Takes Legal Action Against DuPont Over PFAS Pollution
- Attorney General Josh Stein Challenges Federal Rollbacks of Protections Against Methane Emissions
- Attorney General Josh Stein on Recent Offshore Drilling Developments
- Attorney General Josh Stein Challenges Federal Efforts to Weaken Protections for Endangered Species
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