West Virginia v. EPA (D.C. Cir. No. 24-1120)
On October 18, 2024, the Clinic filed an amicus brief on behalf of Rachel Rothschild, Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan Law School and scholar of environmental law, history, and policy, in support of EPA in a case challenging EPA’s performance standards for greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. The brief draws key parallels and meaningful contrasts between emissions rules EPA promulgated in the 1970s, which considered the deployment of sulfur scrubber technology, and the standards currently under review, which consider the deployment of carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology. The brief explains that, despite substantial industry resistance and associated litigation, EPA’s 1970s regulations anticipating the use of sulfur scrubbers facilitated the widespread deployment of sulfur scrubber technology and eventual elimination of acid rain in the United States. The brief articulates why the standards currently under review stand on an even firmer technical footing.