D.C. Circuit Court Lacks Jurisdiction to Hear Coop’s Appeal

The U. S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled earlier this week that it does not have jurisdiction to hear Sunflower Electric Power Corporation’s  appeal of a district court ruling related to the failure of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to prepare an environmental impact statement in connection with Sunflower’s expansion of a coal-fired power plant in Kansas.  The claim was originally brought against the USDA by the Sierra Club in 2007.  The district court remanded the matter to the Rural Utilities Service in 2011, but Sunflower appealed, claiming that the ruling would entangle the power plant project in regulatory and legal issues.  The D.C. Circuit held that the remand ruling was not immediately appealable by a private party.  Once a final order on remand has been entered, Sunflower will be able to appeal that ruling.  To read more about this ruling, click here.

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