Manatt’s Craig Moyer, a partner in the energy, environmental and real estate group, spoke to Bloomberg Law about new regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding carbon controls for existing power plants.
The EPA’s new rule, the Affordable Clean Energy rule, offers minimal guidance for state regulators on what compliance plans should look like, which could open the door to lawsuits if outside groups feel the state’s plans are inefficient.
“Litigation has become the tool of choice in the current political climate. When you’re the hammer, everything’s a nail,” Moyer said.
“I think this will actually add a bit of fuel to the fire that’s already being lit under local utility regulators” to drive clean energy standards and other policy tools to decarbonize the power sector, he said.