By Ken Irvin, Terence Healey and Sohair Ahmadi Aguirre
On January 24, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied requests by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and environmental groups for a rehearing by the panel and for a rehearing en banc on its decision to vacate the Agency’s Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) in EME Homer City Generation, LLP v. EPA, No. 11-1302. For more background information, please see our previous Clients & Friends Alerts from October 15 and August 21.
Denial of the rehearing requests leaves only one recourse for the EPA and environmental groups, to petition the U.S. Supreme Court to grant a review. The court’s decision remaining in place, unchanged by rehearing, has far-reaching implications for power companies, the natural gas and coal sectors and affects tradeable pollution permits.