--- title: "SCOTUS Halts Clean Power Plan" canonicalUrl: "https://wyche.com/insights/blog/posts/scotus-halts-clean-power-plan/" excerpt: "A divided US Supreme Court yesterday halted implementation of the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan. We have previously blogged about the Clean Power Plan on numerous other occasions—so you may know all you wish to know about it for now—but it represents the federal government’s most aggressive action yet to combat climate change. Under the Plan, EPA proposes to regulate carbon dioxide emissions at power plants pursuant to its authority under the Clean Air Act. A predictable coalition including industry, utilities, and red states are challenging the Plan, contending that EPA has exceeded its scope of authority under the Act. By…
Read More" datePublished: "2016-02-10T15:45:12-05:00" dateModified: "2024-05-24T16:05:53-04:00" --- - SCOTUS Halts Clean Power Plan [Home](https://wyche.com/) » SCOTUS Halts Clean Power Plan [** Wade S. Kolb III](https://wyche.com/author/wkolb/) ** ** ** # SCOTUS Halts Clean Power Plan A divided US Supreme Court yesterday halted implementation of the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan. We have previously blogged about the Clean Power Plan on numerous other occasions—so you may know all you wish to know about it for now—but it represents the federal government’s most aggressive action yet to combat climate change. Under the Plan, EPA proposes to regulate carbon dioxide emissions at power plants pursuant to its authority under the Clean Air Act. A predictable coalition including industry, utilities, and red states are challenging the Plan, contending that EPA has exceeded its scope of authority under the Act. By a 5-4 vote, the US Supreme Court has now agreed that Plan implementation should be put on hold while the merits of the challenge are addressed in the lower courts. The Court’s more conservative wing, including Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Alito, Kennedy, Scalia, and Thomas, made up the 5-vote majority. The decision is unusual in that typically regulations will go into effect while a battle over their legality transpires, leading many to speculate that the Plan may not fare well if it were ultimately to reach the Supreme Court, as is now thought likely. [*](https://wyche.com/author/wkolb/) [## Wade S. Kolb III](https://wyche.com/author/wkolb/) Wade focuses his practice on litigation, appellate advocacy, education, internal investigations, and governmental representation. Since joining Wyche in the fall of 2011, Wade has had extensive experience in high-stakes commercial litigation, representing both plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal court. RELATED ARTICLES [](https://wyche.com/insights/blog/posts/former-federal-prosecutor-katie-stoughton-joins-wyches-appellate-and-litigation-practice/) ### [Former Federal Prosecutor Katie Stoughton Joins Wyche’s Appellate and Litigation Practice](https://wyche.com/insights/blog/posts/former-federal-prosecutor-katie-stoughton-joins-wyches-appellate-and-litigation-practice/) COLUMBIA, SC (February 12, 2026) – Wyche, a leading full-service law firm with offices across South Carolina, announces that Kathleen (“Katie”) Stoughton, a former federal [](https://wyche.com/insights/blog/posts/wyche-welcomes-top-tier-associate-austin-coward-to-its-litigation-practice-group/) ### [Wyche Welcomes Top-Tier Associate Austin Coward to Its Litigation Practice Group](https://wyche.com/insights/blog/posts/wyche-welcomes-top-tier-associate-austin-coward-to-its-litigation-practice-group/) COLUMBIA, SC (February 10, 2026) – Wyche, a full-service law firm with offices across South Carolina, is pleased to announce the addition of Austin Coward [* View All](https://wyche.com/insights/news-stories/) ## Stay in Touch Join one our mailing lists and receive regular updates! [Subscribe to Updates](/subscription) ## Contact Us * * Send Message - [Our Philosophy](https://wyche.com/our-philosophy/) - [Unique Culture](https://wyche.com/our-unique-culture/) - [Client Service](https://wyche.com/wyche-difference/) - [Global Reach](https://wyche.com/global-reach/) - [Careers](https://wyche.com/careers/) - [Locations](https://wyche.com/locations) - [Centennial](https://wyche.com/wyche-100/) [Linkedin **](https://www.linkedin.com/company/wychepa/) [Facebook **](https://www.facebook.com/wychepa?ref=hl) [Instagram **](https://www.instagram.com/wychepa/)