During oral argument in UARG v. EPA, the greenhouse gas permitting case before the U.S. Supreme Court, Solicitor General Don Verrilli, arguing on behalf of EPA, cited the Emmett Environmental Law and Policy Clinic’s amicus brief. The clinic’s brief was filed on behalf of Calpine Corp., a Fortune 500 utility company, and described and defended the current greenhouse gas permitting regime. In response to a question about how the Best Available Control Technology requirement functions for greenhouse gases, General Verrilli explained, “Well, it’s an evolving process, Your Honor, and there are now 140 or so permits that have been issued applying BACT to greenhouse gas emissions. There is some very helpful discussion of this kind of specifics in two places: The State Respondents’ brief, pages 35 to 39, and the Calpine amicus brief.” The brief has also received significant press coverage from outlets such as NPR, Reuters, and The Boston Globe.
