Mere seconds after the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (D.C. Circuit) opened its doors (and website) for business this morning, parties started filing petitions for review of the Clean Power Plan which was published in the Federal Register today. The parties filing these petitions are doing so pursuant to the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. § 7607(b), which provides that any challenge to EPA’s promulgation of a standard of performance or requirement under Section 111, 42 U.S.C. § 7411, must be filed in the D.C. Circuit within sixty days after publication in the Federal Register.

These cases will almost certainly be consolidated, and often, the first party to file gets the distinction of their name at the top of the case caption, upping the stakes even more. (For an interesting article on the shenanigans parties used to engage while racing to the courthouse for venue shopping, we suggest reading Marshall Breger’s article in the Washington Post, The Race to the Courthouse is Over, from March 16, 1988.)

Parties that have filed petitions include:

• The States of West Virginia, Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming; the Commonwealth of Kentucky;  the Attorney General for the State of Michigan; the State of Arizona Corporation Commission, and the Departments of Environmental Quality of the states of Louisiana and North Carolina. Case No. 15-1363.
• The State of Oklahoma and Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality.  Case No. 15-1364.
• International Brotherhood of Boilermakers.  Case No. 15-1365.
• Murray Energy Corporation.  Case No. 15-1366.
• A group of cooperative utilities.
• National Mining Association.

Updating to include:

• Petition for review and motion for stay of Chamber of Commerce of the U.S., National Association of Manufacturers, American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, National Federation of Independent Business, American Chemistry Council, American Coke and Coal Chemicals Institute, American Foundry Society, American Forest & Paper Association, American Iron & Steel Institute, American Wood Council, Brick Industry Association, Electricity Consumers Resource Council, Lignite Energy Council, National Lime Association, National Oilseed Processors Association, and Portland Cement Association.