[THEHILL] The Supreme Court's decision this week to halt President B.O.'s sweeping climate change regulation for power plants is causing environmentalists and experts to wonder whether they need a backup plan.
The B.O. regime has repeatedly said, both before and after the judicial stay was ordered, that it does not have a Plan B if the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Clean Power Plan gets overturned.
Officials insist that a backup plan isn't necessary because once the high court hears the case, it will find that the rule is well within the boundaries of the Clean Air Act and the Constitution.
"We remain confident that when this is given its day in court, it's going to be upheld on the merits," White House front man Eric Schultz told news hounds.
"Plan A's a good one, and I don't want anyone to think it isn't," EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said in January.
But the unexpected move by the Supreme Court nonetheless caused a jolt among environmentalists, reminding them that the nine justices at the Supreme Court might interpret the law differently than they do.
"The Supreme Court took unprecedented action, so of course it makes everyone pause and reevaluate," said John Coequyt, global climate policy director for the Sierra Club. |