States must submit at least initial thoughts about how they might cut power-sector carbon emissions by Sept. 6.
Here are the top developments ClimateWire will be tracking in the meantime:
State, Utility Planning Advances
Most states will submit status updates in the fall and request two-year extensions to send EPA their final carbon-slashing plans.
A few states, including California, members of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) and Pennsylvania, could be on track to submit full plans in 2016. California has not yet specified whether it will file this year, and the RGGI states are working through how to tweak their existing cap-and-trade program to be compliant with the Clean Power Plan. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) would like to submit a full plan by Sept. 6, but that desire may be undercut by ongoing negotiations with the state Legislature to pass a budget.
North Carolina, which opposes the rule and is suing EPA, is poised to intentionally submit an inadequate plan in 2016 in order to speed court battles.
State leaders believe EPA only has authority to require emissions reductions at the source -- directly from regulated coal and natural gas plants. It will submit a blueprint for what would be feasible inside that "fence line" and likely will fall short of EPA's targets. But North Carolina will simultaneously develop a plan that will satisfy EPA's goals as a contingency in case lawsuits fail.
Other states plan to seek extensions.
Among the 27 states that are suing, most are drafting plans ahead of the 2018 deadline as a backup option. Even those that have not officially declared they will submit plans to EPA have been meeting with utilities and public interest groups and taking other steps to prepare, according to a recent compilation of actions submitted by suing states that are arguing the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit should halt the rule.
Almost all states are also involved in multi-state discussions about how their decisions might affect one another.
Read more at 2016 Holds Flurry of State Planning, Legal Drama for Clean Power Plan
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