Sept. 11 (UPI) -- A federal appeals court on Friday ruled against a Trump administration order that forced a coal plant in Michigan to stay open beyond its scheduled closure.
The J.H. Campbell coal plant in West Olive was slated to close in May 2025, but has remained open under an emergency order by Secretary Chris Wright's Energy Department.
The 64-year-old facility is one of six plants that the Trump administration has ordered to stay open as it attempts to give coal a lifeline.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled the government's actions went beyond its authority.
"Our reading of the text, structure, and history leaves us unpersuaded by DOE's sweeping conception of its 'emergency' authority," Judge Cornelia Pillard wrote for the three-judge panel.
"The Department's position would empower it to pick its preferred power sources in Michigan -- or, presumably, any other state -- and order them to operate without regard to the multiple procedural and substantive constraints built into state reliability planning processes," the judge added.
The panel ruled the Trump administration could only use its emergency powers when it "identifies a risk of substantial harm from inadequate electricity supply that calls for immediate action by DOE in particular, as opposed to by the states."
The lawsuit was filed by the states of Michigan and Illinois and a number of environmental groups.
"The court rejected the Department of Energy's use of emergency authority, and agreed with our interpretation that emergency authority is to be used for actual emergencies, not picking preferred resources or addressing issues that Congress and the law have entrusted states to deal with," Michael Lenoff, lead attorney for plaintiff Earthjustice, told The New York Times.
Consumers Energy, which owns the Michigan plant, said it would continue to operate while it reviews the decision.
"Ultimately, we will follow the law and work to ensure that everyone who benefits from power from the Campbell plant across the Midwest pays their fair share," spokesman Brian Wheeler told The Times.