Utah Attorney General suing EPA over new federal law on power plants
Jun 20, 2023, 7:00 PM | Updated: 7:11 pm
FILE -- Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes gives the keynote speech during a luncheon for Comcast NBCUniversal scholarship recipients at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, June 20, 2018. Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes is suing the EPA over a recently released federal rule governing power plants. (Kristin Murphy/Deseret News)
(Kristin Murphy/Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes is suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over a recently released federal rule governing power plants.
The Ozone Interstate Transport Rule implemented by the EPA requires each state’s power generation plans to include ways to make up for emissions headed over the state line into a neighboring state.
In a statement, Reyes says the new law is redundant in a state that has dramatically decreased emissions on its own. Beyond Reyes, several Utah leaders call the law a power grab by the Biden Administration. They say it could lead to power plant closures and pose a risk to Utah’s power system.
Among these state leaders are Gov. Spencer Cox, Sen. President J. Stuart Adams, R-Salt Lake City, House Speaker Brad Wilson, U.S. Sens. Mike Lee and Mitt Romney and Congressmen Chris Stewart, John Curtis, Burgess Owens and Blake Moore.
Additionally, states beyond Utah are considering similar actions.
Devin Oldroyd contributed to this article.
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