When the Trump administration granted EPA exemptions to nearly 70-coal-fired power plants across the country, including 7 in Oklahoma, it led to almost an immediate lawsuit filed by environmental groups.
A dozen environmental and community groups filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over what they claim was an illegal use of presidential exemptions that allowed 68 coal-fired power plants to postpone complying with stricter standards for toxic emission improvements.
The 68 exemptions included three power plants operated by Oklahoma Gas & Electric—the Sooner Coal plant in Noble County, the River Valley plant in LeFlore County and the Muskogee plant in Muskogee County.
The Western Farmers Electric Coop Inc. plant at Hugo in Choctaw County was another operation granted an exemption by the EPA administration. So was the Grand River Dam Authority Grec plant in Mayes County, the Goodyear Tire and Rubber company in Lawton and the Michelin Tire plant in Ardmore.
The lawsuit, filed in June, claimed the EPA moves were an “illegal use of presidential exemptions. It is working its way through the U.S. District Court of Columbia.
The plaintiffs to the lawsuit are Air Alliance Houston, Clean Air Council, Downwinders at Risk, Montana Environmental Information Center, and Sierra Club, represented by Earthjustice; Center for Biological Diversity and Environmental Defense Fund, represented by Donahue, Goldberg & Herzog; Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future, represented by Clean Air Task Force; Environmental Integrity Project; Dakota Resource Council and Environmental Law and Policy Center (ELPC), represented by ELPC; and NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council).
The entire 68 coal plants are in 23 states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia, and Wyoming.