Health groups sue EPA over repeal of power plant climate rules

September 17, 2026 at 08:38 PM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

Six public health and environmental groups sued the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday over its repeal of greenhouse gas rules for power plants. The petition asks the D.C. Circuit to review whether the EPA violated the Clean Air Act. The groups warn the rollback could cause thousands of premature deaths and billions in health costs.

Key Facts

The American Lung Association, American Public Health Association, Clean Air Council, Clean Wisconsin, Environmental Defense Fund, and Natural Resources Defense Council filed the petition on Thursday.
The petition asks the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to review whether the EPA's action conflicts with the Clean Air Act.
The EPA finalized the repeal in the Federal Register on Thursday, after announcing the plan on Monday.
The groups allege the rule change could cause thousands of premature deaths.
Lawrence Hafetz of the Clean Air Council said the rollback would trigger billions of dollars in healthcare costs.

The Lawsuit

Six organizations filed a petition on Thursday requesting that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit review the EPA's repeal of greenhouse gas rules for power plants. The petitioners include the American Lung Association, the American Public Health Association, the Clean Air Council, Clean Wisconsin, the Environmental Defense Fund, and the Natural Resources Defense Council. The petition alleges that the rule change conflicts with the Clean Air Act and could cause thousands of premature deaths. APHA CEO Georges C. Benjamin said the EPA was weakening life-saving standards and stripping vital protections for children, pregnant people, and communities overburdened by pollution.

EPA's Legal Defense

The EPA claimed its action was based on the best reading of the Clean Air Act. The agency proposed rescinding all remaining greenhouse gas emissions requirements for power plants, arguing the restrictions produce virtually no benefits. The EPA also argued that public health harms are too uncertain, conjectural, remote, and convoluted to tie specifically to the U.S. power sector. NRDC federal climate legal director Meredith Hankins said the EPA's legal reasoning is fatally flawed and that the Clean Air Act and Supreme Court precedent demand the agency address climate pollution from the largest industrial source in the nation.

Health and Economic Impact

Lawrence Hafetz, legal director of the Clean Air Council, said millions of Americans will get sicker, face more extreme weather, and pay more for energy and electricity, with vulnerable communities suffering the most. The groups warn the rollback would trigger billions of dollars in healthcare costs. Benjamin said power plant pollution threatens the health of millions of Americans and fuels climate change, worsening extreme heat, poor air quality, and other serious health risks.