Scott Walker orders Wisconsin not to comply with Obama climate rule

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) has signed an executive order blocking the formation of a state plan to comply with President Obama’s climate rule for power plants. 

In the order, released Monday, Walker cited last week’s Supreme Court order to delay the regulations as a reason for not working toward compliance.

{mosads}“Clearly, this rule exceeds the President’s authority and would place an undue burden on the Wisconsin ratepayers and manufacturers,” Walker said in a statement.

“The stay granted last week by the Supreme Court validates our concerns about this rule.”

Last week, the Supreme Court temporarily blocked the Clean Power Plan, a rule designed to cut carbon dioxide emissions from the electricity sector by setting state-by-state reduction goals. The delay, called a “stay” in legal terminology, means states won’t have to write compliance plans and submit them to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unless the rule is validated by the courts.  

Several Republican-led states, including Wisconsin, sued to block the rule. Since the stay, many have reaffirmed that they won’t be writing compliance plans until courts rule on the matter. 

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who sued against the rule, told reporters last week that his state wouldn’t comply. He and West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey wrote a letter urging state regulators to do the same.

But EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy encouraged regulators last week to continue working toward their goals despite the stay, saying the ruling “doesn’t mean we won’t continue to support any state that voluntarily wants to move forward.”