Ruling in favor of the Sierra Club and our partners last week, the D.C. Circuit Court struck down the Trump Administration's illegal use of the Federal Power Act to keep a dirty coal plant online past the date when the utility agreed to retire it.
After years of Sierra Club's grassroots and legal efforts, Consumer Energy's Campbell coal plant in West Olive, Michigan was on track to be retired early in 2025. Last year, Trump's Department of Energy issued an "emergency" order, unlawfully attempting to keep Campbell open. The new ruling agrees with Sierra Club and Earthjustice, along with the State of Michigan, who successfully argued that there was no “energy emergency” that permitted the federal government to override the state’s decision to replace the plant with cleaner, cheaper sources and that the order was therefore an unlawful use of Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act.
“Today’s ruling is a victory for families across the Midwest who are tired of paying to keep this old, expensive, and dirty power plant online,” said Sierra Club Chief Appellate Counsel Sanjay Narayan. “Instead of working to lower costs and clean up our air and water, the Trump administration has been pulling out all the stops to try to bolster dirty and expensive fossil fuels–at public expense. We will continue to hold the Department of Energy accountable to the law, and ensure that the J.H. Campbell plant finally retires as it was scheduled to, and we will continue to fight back against the other illegal extensions across the country.”
The Trump administration's similar unlawful orders across the country have cost Americans over $546 million dollars to date. The Sierra Club has filed challenges against every unlawful extension order issued by the DOE.
By delaying the plant’s retirement and occupying the site of the power plant, the administration is also keeping new, cost-saving, clean energy projects from coming online. According to Sierra Club’s Out of Control dashboard, the J.H. Campbell plant kills an estimated 66 people each year from soot and smog pollution.
"For years, community members have lived with the impact of air and water pollution from the Campbell Coal plant," said Jan O'Connell, Sierra Club Michigan Chapter's Senior Energy Organizer. "The Trump administration's effort to extend its life has real consequences beyond the so-called 'energy emergency,' and we're glad the courts have stepped in to restore hope."