EPA Finalizes Affordable Clean Energy Rule
July 30, 2019
Megan A. Elliott
The Legal Intelligencer
On June 19, the Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized its Affordable Clean Energy rule (ACE rule), intending to put the final nail in the coffin of Obama-era attempts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The new ACE rule affords states a considerable degree of flexibility in determining how to reduce GHG emissions from electric generating facilities. Significantly, the ACE rule is expressly intended to allow coal-fired power plants to continue to operate subject only to unit-specific technological improvements. The rule has attracted a great deal of attention from a variety of interested parties, including activists, lawmakers, scientists, and the regulated community.
