Kentucky coal producers’ association joins lawsuit supporting EPA’s repeal of 2024 emissions rule

Washington, DC; November 4, 2026: A group representing Kentucky coal producers is intervening in a lawsuit over the Environmental Protection Agency’s repeal of its 2024 Carbon Pollution Standards for Fossil Fuel-Fired Electric Generating Units. The Kentucky Coal Association (KCA) argues that the court should affirm the repeal because the EPA exceeded its statutory authority and unconstitutionally exercised legislative power by issuing the emissions rule.

“Agency guidelines should not reshape the American energy economy without clear authorization from Congress,” said Matt Gilliam, an attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation. “The EPA had no authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants in the first place. Its 2024 rule wrongly limited energy producers’ ability to make productive use of our natural resources, threatening Americans’ access to affordable, reliable energy. We urge the court to affirm the rule’s repeal.”

The EPA repealed its 2024 Carbon Pollution Standards on September 17, 2026, stating that the emissions rule was unachievable and imposed unreasonable costs on energy producers. Shortly afterward, the American Lung Association challenged the repeal and asked the court to require the agency to reinstate the emissions rule.

Represented at no cost by Pacific Legal Foundation, KCA filed a motion to intervene in the case in support of the EPA’s repeal. The court granted the motion on November 3. KCA argues that the agency lacked congressional authority to impose such sweeping restrictions on energy producers, making the emissions rule an unconstitutional exercise of legislative power.

The case is American Lung Association, et al. v. Environmental Protection Agency.