Federal court rejects Trump order keeping Michigan coal plant open
The court said the Energy Department lacked an actual emergency and noted the plant has cost Midwest families $600,000 a day.
- On Friday, the District Circuit Court for Columbia overturned the Energy Department's "emergency" order that forced the 64-year-old Campbell coal-fired power plant in Michigan to remain open past its scheduled retirement date.
- Appeals Court Judge Cornelia Pillard wrote for the unanimous panel that the Federal Power Act allows such orders only as a "narrow, last-resort backstop," finding the Energy Department exceeded its authority when issuing the May 2025 order.
- Since the order was issued, Campbell has cost families in the Midwest $600,000 a day, while the Sierra Club's "Burning Money" tracker estimates these administration orders have cost Americans over $546 million to date.
- Ted Kelly, U.S. clean energy director at the Environmental Defense Fund, said the ruling rejected the Trump Administration's nationwide effort to force "unreliable, aging coal plants that are bleeding money and polluting communities to stay online."
- This Michigan case is one of several legal disputes emerging across the country as the Trump Administration uses emergency powers to force a half-dozen coal-fired plants from closing, signaling broader challenges ahead.
54 Articles
54 Articles
A federal judge just told Trump there's no "emergency" to justify keeping a Michigan coal plant open
The Department of Energy overstepped when it ordered an aging coal-fired power plant in Michigan to stay open past its planned retirement date last year, a federal court ruled on Friday. The J.H Campbell plant is one of seven fossil-fueled plants around the country that the Trump administration has forced to stay in operation, despite the pollution they cause and the enormous costs of keeping them online. Just before it was about to close last …
Court Finds Administration Out of Line on Coal Plant Order
In a defense for the Trump administration, a federal court on Friday ruled that the Energy Department exceeded its authority when it forced a Michigan coal-fired power to stay open past its schedule withdrawal date last year. Energy Secretary Chris Wright had said the 64-year-old J.H. Campbell Generating Plant...
Federal court rejects Trump order keeping Michigan coal plant open - WXXV News 25
By MATTHEW DALY WASHINGTON (AP) — In a defeat for the Trump administration, a federal court on Friday ruled that the Energy Department exceeded its authority when it forced a Michigan coal-fired power to stay open past its scheduled retirement date last year. Energy Secretary Chris Wright had said the 64-year-old J.H. Campbell Generating Plant was needed to ensure reliable electricity...
Court Boots Order To Keep Aging Coal Plant Running
Politico reports: A federal appeals court on Friday rejected an Energy Department emergency order that kept a Michigan coal plant running months past its planned retirement date, delivering a stinging first blow to the Trump administration’s efforts to hand U.S. coal a lifeline. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit found … The post Court Boots Order To Keep Aging Coal Plant Running appeared first on Joe.My.God..
Trump's 'sweeping' emergency claim shot down in bid to force open a doomed coal plant
A federal appeals court on Friday shot down the Trump administration's claim of sweeping emergency authority to keep a doomed Michigan coal plant running, dealing the first legal defeat to the president's push to throw U.S. coal a lifeline.In a unanimous ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit found that the Energy Department overstepped when Secretary Chris Wright ordered a utility to keep operating the 64-year-old J.H. Campbell …
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