A group of states, including Ohio, earned a victory in their challenge to federal regulations that would reduce coal-plant carbon emissions.
The Supreme Court sided with Ohio and 26 other states in delaying implementation of the U.S. EPA’s Clean Power Plan.
Dan Tierney with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office says the federal government is overextending its authority, saying a one- size-fits-all mentality hurts a state like Ohio.
“We’ve got a different mix of energy than you might see in California, or you might see in the plains states or you might see in Florida. So in those respects it makes sense that Ohio makes decisions that are locally based by people who know Ohio.”
Environmental groups not giving up
Ohio environmental advocates are staying optimistic.
The Ohio Environmental Council believes the courts will eventually rule for the plan. The council's Brennan Howell says the Clean Power Plan is just a continuation of policies already in motion in Ohio.
“We’ve been previously implementing energy efficiency policies which have saved Ohioans over a billion dollars on their energy bills. We’ve been putting up wind turbines. We’ve been doing a lot of these kinds of things and the Clean Power Plan just continues that pathway.”
Those green-energy policies Howell’s talking about were frozen in Ohio in 2014,but the freeze is supposed to be lifted at the end of this year.
