On January 19, 2021, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) Rule. The Court concluded, “Because promulgation of the ACE Rule and its embedded repeal of the Clean Power Plan rested critically on a mistaken reading of the Clean Air Act, we vacate the Ace Rule and remand to the Agency. We also vacate the amendments to the implementing regulations that extend the compliance timeline.” A copy of the Court’s decision is available here.
UPDATE: On February 12, 2021, EPA issued a memorandum to all EPA Regional Administrators to clarify that states do not have any obligations under the ACE Rule or the previous Clean Power Plan. A copy of the EPA memorandum is available here.
