P.O. Box 7857
Madison, WI 53707-7857
www.doj.state.wi.us
BRAD D. SCHIMEL
ATTORNEY GENERAL
NEWS RELEASE
Wisconsin files suit against federal government to halt “Carbon Rule”
October 23, 2015
Contact: Anne E. Schwartz 608-266-6686
MADISON — Attorney General Brad Schimel today announced that Wisconsin, along with 23
other states, filed a lawsuit challenging the Obama Administration’s Section 111(d) Rule, an
unlawful plan to radically restructure the way electricity is produced and consumed throughout
the country. The Rule, as promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), would
result in dramatically higher electricity bills and significantly less reliable utility services for
families, businesses, hospitals and schools across the country.
“As one of the top manufacturing states in the nation, it is imperative that we join this fight
against federal overreach into energy regulation in Wisconsin,” AG Schimel said.
The Rule purports to require States to reorganize their energy grids, in order to reduce carbon emissions
from electric-generating plants. Wisconsin is required to reduce emissions by 41 percent below
2005 levels by 2030. Wisconsin Public Service Commission estimated the proposed rule would
cost the state as much as $13.4 billion.1 It’s likely the final version will add to these costs, which
will ultimately be paid by consumers who could see their electric bills go up significantly.
The rule will cause increased manufacturing prices, and may force many Wisconsin facilities to
relocate, resulting in job loss, while at the same time causing residential electricity costs to spike.
In the documents filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the
States make clear that EPA has no legal authority to promulgate or enforce the 111(d) Rule.
States have argued to EPA for more than a year that the Rule is unlawful for multiple reasons. In
particular, EPA lacks authority under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act to force States to
fundamentally restructure their electric grids by requiring them to use less coal-fired energy and
build costly wind and solar facilities. As a result, the Rule effectively requires a “cap-and-trade”
regime without statutory authority and which has been specifically rejected by a Democraticallycontrolled Congress. The Rule is also illegal because it seeks to require States to regulate coalfired power plants under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act, even though EPA already regulates
those same plants under Section 112 of the Act, double regulation that is flatly prohibited by the
Clean Air Act.
- more -
1
http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/AirQuality/documents/WICommentsonEPACleanPowerPlan.pdf
WI files to halt “Carbon Rule
Page Two
The States challenging the Rule include West Virginia, Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado,
Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana,
Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin, Wyoming, the
Arizona Corporation Commission and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.
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