The Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) Rule, was released by the EPA Tuesday as a replacement to the Obama-era Clean Power Plan. Already, at least one Democratic State Attorney General has announced he will “take every action necessary to halt” the Trump administration measure.
Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring announced, “I am ready to take every action necessary to halt the adoption of this dangerous and woefully insufficient replacement of the Clean Power Plan.”
ACE gives states broad authority to determine how to restrict carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions.
As previously reported by MRCTV, the Clean Power Plan was never actually implemented, having been stalled by the Supreme Court after more than 20 states sued the Obama administration for an unconstitutional overreach of power.
Attorney General Herring had previously joined AGs from New York, California, Connecticut and others to defend the Obama-era Clean Power Plan earlier this year.
“Here in Virginia, we are already seeing the devastating, irreversible effects that climate change and sea level rise can have on communities,” Herring said in a press release. “If the Trump Administration’s proposed replacement of the Clean Power Plan goes into effect carbon emissions across the country would go up, which would lead to dirtier air and potentially thousands of premature deaths.”
“EPA has an important role when it comes to addressing the CO2 from our nation’s power plants,” said Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation Bill Wehrum in an EPA press release. “The ACE rule would fulfill this role in a manner consistent with the structure of the Clean Air Act while being equally respectful of its bounds.”