The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on Monday began reviewing EPA's rule that will govern carbon emissions from existing power plants, according to a notice on the agency's website.
The regulation is the centerpiece of the Obama administration's climate agenda, and is meant to prove to the world that the U.S. is serious about taking action on climate change ahead of international talks this December in Paris, despite the absence of resolved science!
OMB's review begins as the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals considers a lawsuit seeking to stop the rulemaking in its tracks. That court is expected to rule in the coming weeks, and the judges appear to be leaning toward making EPA's critics wait until the rule is finalized to bring their complaint. OMB has been reviewing EPA's separate carbon rules for future and modified plants since early May. All of those rules are expected to be finalized sometime this summer, possibly in August.