DOE’s Illegal Extension of Coal Plant Challenged in Court for the First Time

On December 19, public advocacy groups led by the Sierra Club and Earthjustice filed an appellate brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to ask the court to set aside the Department of Energy’s unlawful orders for the J.H. Campbell coal-fired power plant in Michigan. This is the first-ever challenge in court to DOE’s abuse of Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act, which is intended to temporarily alleviate certain imminent emergencies on the grid, but is being used by the Trump Administration to prevent the long-planned retirement of some of the nation’s most polluting fossil fuel power plants.

Last month, Trump’s DOE issued a third 90-day “emergency” order to force the J.H. Campbell plant to keep burning coal. These DOE orders are temporary in name only – DOE keeps renewing them, in violation of the law. The brief filed today also refutes DOE’s false claims that the J.H. Campbell plant’s electricity was needed on the regional electric grid last summer.

The federal order requires the J.H. Campbell plant to run around the clock— regardless of conditions on the electric grid. The cost of the orders through September 30 exceeded $80 million, an average cost of $615,000 per day, according to Consumers Energy, the majority owner of the power plant. The cost is set to be paid by households across the northern and central regional MISO grid, from Eastern Montana to Michigan and nine other states. 

Three state co-petitioners, Minnesota, Illinois, and the People of the State of Michigan, also filed a brief in the case.

Statements 

“The Trump administration supports its emergency order with a handful of documents they either misunderstand or mischaracterize. In addition, requiring the coal-burning J.H. Campbell plant to run 24/7—at least whenever it’s not broken—is going to be very costly in terms of household electric bills and in terms of harmful pollution. The law does not allow the Trump administration to take over planning of the power industry from states, grid operators, and utility regulators, and the administration’s policy to prop up a failing coal industry does not excuse them from complying with the law.”  – Michael Lenoff, a senior attorney at Earthjustice

“The D.C. Circuit should reverse this illegal DOE order. Midwestern families and businesses should not be forced to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in higher electricity prices to keep the uneconomic 63-year-old J.H. Campbell coal plant running — a plant the Michigan Public Service Commission has determined was not, and is not, needed for reliability. This is especially true when cleaner, more affordable alternatives are readily available. The Trump administration’s unlawful mandate to keep this aging coal plant operational harms affordability for consumers, lacks legal justification, and overrides reasonable decisions made by state officials, the utility, and the affected communities.”  –  Howard Learner, Environmental Law & Policy Center CEO & Executive Director

“The Trump administration has extended the life of the dangerous and aging J.H. Campbell coal plant for over half a year, harming local Michigan communities and raising energy costs for millions of Americans across the Midwest. We will continue to hold the administration accountable for the lies and disinformation they are spreading to justify illegally keeping these dangerous fossil fuel plants open past their retirement dates. We’re prepared to go to court time and time again to defend our communities,” – Greg Wannier, Sierra Club Senior Attorney 

“We’re already seeing the fallout from this reckless mandate: a coal plant that’s struggling to operate, costing households millions and releasing toxic pollution for no good reason. State leaders determined years ago through a transparent, public process that closing Campbell would save customers money and allow families and businesses to benefit from more affordable, reliable, clean sources of energy. The Trump administration’s decision to needlessly upend those choices is unlawful and unjustified.” – Ted Kelly, Director and Legal Counsel, U.S. Clean Energy, Environmental Defense Fund

“All this does is increase Michiganders’ electric bills and worsen their health as a dirty and expensive plant most-everyone agrees should close continues to spew filth into the air due to political whims in DC,” – Caroline Reiser, a senior attorney at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council