The White House may be able to defend its embattled climate rule for the power sector before a change in administration next January.
EPA and opponents of the agency’s new power plant rule reached an agreement Friday that puts the case on an expedited briefing schedule that could lead to oral arguments by the end of the year.
The filings from EPA, utility industry groups and Republican state attorneys general come after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit two weeks ago declined to stop the rule from taking effect. The court agreed at the time with EPA’s suggestion that the case “be expedited as an alternative means of protecting all parties’ interests.”
According to documents filed with the D.C. Circuit late Friday, opening briefs would be due by Sept. 6, and — in order to schedule oral arguments “as soon as possible thereafter in 2024” — final briefs would be due by Nov. 1.
