On June 2, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed its Clean Power Plan, a high-profile regulation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from existing fossil fuel-fired power plants. The EPA’s action has received considerable attention because it may reduce heat-trapping emissions from the power sector by as much as 30 percent by 2030.
EPA is proposing the Clean Power Plan under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. §7411(d), which directs the agency to establish standards of performance for certain existing sources of air pollution. States submit plans to the EPA that are designed to achieve these standards. Section 111 provides that the standards must limit emissions to the extent “achievable through the application of the best system of emission reduction.” 42 U.S.C. §111(a)(1).
