Dan Rayfield and 20 states sue to block Trump administration’s pollution rollback

Bend, Ore. (KTVZ) --- Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield filed a lawsuit today against the Trump administration challenging the repeal of federal limits on power plant pollution. The legal action opposes the Environmental Protection Agency's decision to dismantle 2024 regulations that required coal- and gas-fired power plants to reduce carbon emissions.

Rayfield filed the lawsuit alongside attorneys general from 19 other states, the District of Columbia, the governor of Pennsylvania and municipal leaders from New York City, Chicago and Denver.

The repealed rules targeted power plants, which account for roughly a quarter of all carbon dioxide emissions in the United States. The coalition argues that the EPA violated federal law by eliminating the limits without adequately calculating the climate and public health costs, rendering the decision arbitrary and capricious.

Oregon Rayfield emphasized the regional environmental and health consequences driving the legal challenge. “Oregonians know what a changing climate looks like. We've lived through the heat dome and summers where the smoke was so thick our kids couldn't play outside,” Rayfield said. “Pollution doesn't stop at state lines and power plants are one of the biggest sources of it. The law requires EPA to do something about that. Instead, the Trump Administration is letting the biggest polluters off the hook and leaving families to pay the price.”

The lawsuit details several public health and economic risks associated with increased carbon emissions. According to the filing, higher pollution levels lead to more frequent heat waves and severe weather events, including heavy flooding and wildfire smoke. These conditions disproportionately impact low-income communities, older adults and children while increasing recovery expenses for local governments.

Separately, the coalition issued a formal notice of intent to sue the EPA over its failure to regulate existing natural gas power plants. Although the agency set emission standards for new gas plants more than a decade ago, it has never established similar rules for existing facilities, including high-demand “peaker” plants, as required under the Clean Air Act.

The lawsuit asks the federal court to overturn the repeal and reinstate the 2024 emission regulations for power plants. The states' formal notice gives the EPA required lead time before the coalition files its separate lawsuit regarding existing gas-fired facilities.