Minnesota Suit Highlights Difficulty Of State GHG Laws Absent EPA Rules

Minnesota is urging a federal appellate court to uphold the state's law that bars utilities from purchasing or importing power from out-of-state coal-fired power plants until EPA regulates their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, arguing in a new brief that the panel should overturn a lower court ruling that held the law violates the Constitution's dormant commerce clause. While the suit may be mooted once EPA is able to regulate emissions nationwide, it nevertheless highlights the difficulties states face if they...