A federal appeals court has asked Texas and the federal government to weigh in on whether the state's challenge to U.S. EPA's takeover of greenhouse gas permitting there should be held until after the judges rule on related cases concerning the legality of the administration's climate rules.

The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued an order Friday asking parties involved in the case to file briefs on the issue within 30 days. The same court is considering three cases challenging EPA's greenhouse gas rules (Greenwire, March 23).

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott (R) is disputing EPA's "SIP Call," which asked states to show that they could start overseeing greenhouse gas emissions through their state-run air pollution programs.

States that lacked the authority or ability to follow the new rules under their existing state implementation plans (SIPs) needed to use a federally designed plan or hand the reins over to EPA.

Under the new rules that took effect on Jan. 2, companies are required to get a permit for their greenhouse gas emissions before they can start construction on large industrial projects.

Texas was the only state that resisted, meaning that EPA officials are now responsible for issuing permits to projects there.

Lawyers following the various cases said the order reflects an awareness from the court that the outcome of the Texas case is closely tied to litigation over the rules.

Click here to read the order.