Summary

Nearly 150 opponents — including 27 states, industries and labor groups — rushed to attack the Clean Power Plan with more than 50 separate lawsuits that have been linked at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

EPA's challengers are preparing to attack the rule from several angles, according to court documents that lay out their prime arguments.

Among their accusations: EPA illegally issued duplicative rules for coal-fired power plants, the rule infringes on states' rights, the agency intrudes on federal energy regulators' turf, and EPA doesn't have the authority to force states to transform their energy systems to favor certain sources of electricity.

On the opposite side, 18 states, cities, greens and industry groups have jumped in to defend the agency's signature climate rule. For their part, EPA and its supporters say they're confident the rule will withstand scrutiny, pointing to previous Supreme Court rulings finding that EPA had the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions using the Clean Air Act.

Rule's allies

18 states — California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Massachusetts and Virginia.

Cities, counties, mayors — National League of Cities; U.S. Conference of Mayors; Austin, Texas; Seattle; District of Columbia; Boulder, Colo.; Chicago; New York; Philadelphia; South Miami, Fla.; Baltimore; Coral Gables, Fla.; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Houston; Jersey City, N.J.; Los Angeles; Minneapolis; Pinecrest, Fla.; Portland, Ore.; Providence, R.I.; Salt Lake City; San Francisco; West Palm Beach, Fla.; Broward County, Fla.; and Boulder County, Colo.; and dozens of other cities and counties around the country.

Greens, public health groups — American Lung Association, Clean Air Council, Clean Wisconsin, Coal River Mountain Watch, Conservation Law Foundation, Environmental Defense Fund, Kanawha Forest Coalition, Keeper of the Mountains Foundation, Mon Valley Clean Air Coalition, Natural Resources Defense Council, Ohio Environmental Council, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, American Thoracic Society, American Medical Association, American College of Preventive Medicine, American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Industry groups — Advanced Energy Economy, American Wind Energy Association, Solar Energy Industries Association, Calpine Corp., National Grid Generation LLC, New York Power Authority, NextEra Energy Inc., Pacific Gas and Electric Co., Sacramento Municipal Utility District and Southern California Edison Co.; Dominion Resources Inc.; and other industry groups.

Other allies — More than 200 current and former members of Congress; former EPA Administrators William Ruckelshaus and William Reilly; former Senate staffers; state and local government officials; climate scientists; business groups; tech companies including Amazon.com, Apple, Google and Microsoft; grid experts; consumer advocates; the Service Employees International Union; health groups; the Union of Concerned Scientists; religious organizations; the Institute for Policy Integrity; Madeleine Albright; Leon Panetta; William Burns; Ikea North America Services LLC; and other corporations.

Rule’s challengers

27 states — Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming, plus Nevada, which filed an amicus brief opposing the rule. North Carolina previously opposed the rule but no longer does.

Utilities, public power and co-ops — Utility Air Regulatory Group; American Public Power Association; National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and 39 local electric co-operatives; Alabama Power Co.; Georgia Power Co.; Gulf Power Co.; Mississippi Power Co.; CO2 Task Force of the Florida Electric Power Coordinating Group Inc.; Montana-Dakota Utilities Co., a division of MDU Resources Group Inc.; Westar Energy Inc.; NorthWestern Corp., doing business as NorthWestern Energy; Luminant Generation Co. LLC; Oak Grove Management Co. LLC; Big Brown Power Co. LLC; Sandow Power Co. LLC; Big Brown Lignite Co. LLC; Entergy Corp.; LG&E and KU Energy LLC; Newmont Nevada Energy Investment LLC; Prairie State Generating Co. LLC; Minnesota Power; and Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia.

205 members of Congress — 34 senators and 171 representatives led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). The lawmakers are all Republicans with the exception of West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin.

Labor — International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, Blacksmiths, Forgers & Helpers; International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers; and United Mine Workers of America.

Other industry challengers — National Association of Home Builders, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers, American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, National Federation of Independent Business, American Chemistry Council, American Coke and Coal Chemicals Institute, American Foundry Society, American Forest & Paper Association, American Iron and Steel Institute, American Wood Council, Brick Industry Association, Electricity Consumers Resource Council, National Lime Association, National Oilseed Processors Association, Portland Cement Association, Association of American Railroads, Energy-Intensive Manufacturers Working Group on Greenhouse Gas Regulation, National Alliance of Forest Owners, Denbury Onshore LLC, Biogenic CO2 Coalition, Dixon Bros. Inc., Western Explosives Systems Co., Joy Global Inc., Nelson Brothers Inc., Norfolk Southern Corp., Morning Star Packing Co., Merit Oil Company, Loggers Association of Northern California, and dozens of other state and local business associations.

Coal, mining — Murray Energy Corp., National Mining Association, American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, Lignite Energy Council, Luminant Mining Co. LLC, Luminant Big Brown Mining Co. LLC, West Virginia Coal Association, Newmont USA Ltd., North American Coal Corp., Peabody Energy Corp. and Gulf Coast Lignite Coalition.

Legal nonprofits, other challengers — Southeastern Legal Foundation, Consumers' Research, Landmark Legal Foundation, Pacific Legal Foundation, 60Plus Association, former state public utility commissioners, Texas Public Policy Foundation, Philip Zoebisch, Norman Brown and Joseph D'Aleo.