CHARLESTON, W.Va.— Although the Supreme Court of the United States has placed a stay on further implementation of the federal Environmental Protection Service’s Clean Power Plan for the time being, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection continues it’s work on the first step toward development of a plan to implement the new emission requirements.
“Under legislation that passed in 2015, the DEP was required to conduct a feasibility study that will look at the economic impact of actually developing and implementing a state plan to comply with the Clean Power Plan,” said Department of Environmental Protection Spokesperson Kelly Gillenwater. “That law is still in effect.”
The deadline for the DEP to complete the feasibility study is April 2016. Gillenwater said they intend to meet that goal and deliver the study on time to lawmakers. Meanwhile, 30 states, which include West Virginia, will make their legal arguments against enforcement of the far reaching proposal from the EPA.
Under the language of the Clean Power Plan, states had to have a preliminary reportt submitted to the US EPA by September of this year and a final plan by 2018. States would be allowed to apply for an extension, which Gillenwater said was likely where they were headed originally, but now everything is up in the air with regard to what Washington will get.
“We have not started the formal process of state implementation plan development,” she said. “There is a possibility that much of the information gathered for the feasibility study would go into developing a state plan, as far as development of the state plan itself, no we have not started that process.”
The legislature made it clear in 2015 the wanted to review any such plan which will be submitted to the federal EPA for compliance. The high court’s stay does buy the DEP at least some breathing room. However, she added her agency is on track to deliver the requested study to lawmakers by April.
“We’re waiting just like everyone else to see what the final decision is as to how the court challenge will wind up,” she said.