A court has granted the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s motion to withdraw from an ongoing legal challenge to part of the federal Clean Power Plan.
The motion to withdraw was granted this week by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein filed the motion Feb. 23 on behalf of Michael Regan, secretary of the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality.
“We are pleased the court granted our motion to withdraw from this case,” Regan said. “We did not feel this case was a good use of our agency’s or taxpayers’ resources, and it did not align with our mission. This will enable us to devote more of our time and energy toward protection of air, water and natural resources.”
North Carolina, under the previous administration, joined other states in October 2015 to challenge part of the Clean Power Plan that addresses carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants.
“The court’s decision to grant our motion to withdraw is good news for North Carolina,” Stein said. “Investing in clean energy creates jobs and combats climate change.”