EPA delays until summer releasing proposed rules for cutting CO2 emissions 30% by 2030

The Environmental Protection Agency has delayed until the summer releasing proposed rules to cut carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, Amy Harder reports for The Wall Street Journal. The proposed rules, which were planned for release today, include a 30 percent reduction in carbon-dioxide emissions by 2030 from existing power plants based on emission levels from 2005.

The proposal, released in June, "set different carbon-emission limits for each state and depends heavily on individual plans to meet those targets, which the agency is requiring states submit by June 2016," Harder writes. "But for those states that choose not to issue a plan at all or for those that would rather defer to the EPA’s authority, the agency is planning to announce Wednesday it will develop a federal plan to cut carbon emissions. This move, also anticipated by some experts, could be controversial in states run by conservative governors critical of the federal government’s regulatory power."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) "has vowed to overturn the emissions rules," reports Dina Cappiello for the The Associated Press. "He tried in January 2014 when Democrats controlled the chamber. But Congress’ investigative arm said he would have to wait for a final rule."