Groups take Trump admin to court over Craig coal plant extension

Last week, the state of Colorado filed a challenge in federal court to overturn the Trump administration’s emergency order extending the life of Colorado’s Craig Unit 1, a coal-burning power plant. Public interest organizations Vote Solar, the Sierra Club, and the Environmental Defense Fund also filed their own challenge to the Trump administration order.

To learn more, KGNU’s Abby O’Brien spoke with one of the attorneys in that suit. Leslie Coleman is a senior attorney with Earthjustice’s Rocky Mountain Office. She is representing Vote Solar in the case.

“The administration is really doing all it can to rescue fossil fuels no matter the cost. And the Department of Energy issued a so-called emergency order under the Federal Power Act that forbids this plant from shutting down. Now, the cost of keeping this unnecessary plant open are really gonna fall on people like you and me who pay electricity bills,” said Coleman.

This story aired on the Morning Magazine, KGNU’s weekday morning show featuring in-depth discussions on local news issues. Click here to listen to other episodes of the Morning Magazine.