A clarification request was sent by U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), chairman of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) concerning the agency's statement that it would continue on with the Clean Power Plan (CPP), even though the Supreme Court had voted to halt implementation 5-4 last month.
This was the first time the high court issued a stay on a rule after a stay was denied by an appellate court. The letter was sent to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy.
The letter asked McCarthy to clarify what the EPA meant when it provided statements after the stay ruling, including that while the EPA recognizes the Supreme Court's ruling, the Clean Power Plan would continue. The EPA also said the Clean Power Plan was functioning well among the states. The letter also voiced concerns that the EPA may be ignoring the compliance deadlines which were part of the stay.
Inhofe speculated to McCarthy that perhaps the statements were made to create the impression among states that the plan was still viable to feed into President Obama's Paris COP-21 promise, which will not reach its goals of reducing emissions without it.
Inhofe also condemned what he called
"methods to intimidate and confuse states into continuing implementation."
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