New York challenges EPA’s power-plant emissions repeal

New York and New York City joined a coalition that filed a petition Oct. 1 asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to overturn the Environmental Protection Agency’s partial repeal of the 2024 power-plant emissions standards and restore the rules.

Published Sept. 17, the final rule repeals emission guidelines for existing fossil-fuel-fired steam units; carbon-capture-based standards for coal-fired steam units undertaking a large modification; and Phase 2 carbon-capture-based standards for new baseload stationary combustion turbines. The rule is scheduled to take effect Nov. 16, 2026.

The petition alleges the EPA violated the Clean Air Act and failed to adequately consider alternatives and health and climate costs. Those are the challengers’ claims, not court findings. The filing does not itself overturn or automatically pause the rule. The EPA separately proposed rescinding remaining power-sector greenhouse-gas standards; that proposal is not part of this challenge. The agency projected $310 billion in savings from the repeal, an estimate rather than a confirmed result.