Energy-Intensive Mfgs

On February 9, just days before the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, the U.S. Supreme Court <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2016/02/09/supreme-court-puts-the-brakes-on-the-epas-clean-power-plan/" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153, 204);">granted a stay</a> freezing President Barack Obama's Clean Power Plan (CPP). 

While many articles have speculated on what Scalia's death means as it relates to the future of the CPP — and the Court's voting balance tipping from a 5-4 conservative majority to a potential 5-4 liberal majority — there's been less attention paid to the corporate-funded network that launched a slew of lawsuits against the government to add legal muscle to the state Attorneys General attacks on the CPP.

A DeSmog investigation of the dozens of <a href="http://consideringthegrid.com/stopping-the-clock-on-the-clean-power-plan-4" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153, 204);">legal challenges filed just before the holidays at the federal Appeals Court level</a>reveals that big corporate interests sit at the center of a coordinated attack against the Obama administration's regulatory attempt to curb emissions for coal-fired power plants.These plaintiffs include groups with ties to the Koch Brothers, Peabody Energy and other coal companies, trade associations, and front groups from the utility industry and major corporate law firms.
The easy ones to identify are the companies and industry trade associations. These <a href="http://consideringthegrid.com/stopping-the-clock-on-the-clean-power-plan-4" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153, 204);">include</a> the National Mining Association, American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE), Peabody Energy Corporation, Murray Energy Corporation, Norfolk Southern, the Association of American Railroads and others. 

The tougher nut to crack is the identities behind the front groups. We dug into them and put faces to front group names so you don't have to.<h3 style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif;">Energy-Intensive Manufacturers’ Working Group on Greenhouse Gas Regulation</h3>Sometimes a name says it all, which is the case with this group that filed a petition for review with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on December 22. (Most of the petitions were filed at the last minute on December 22 as the challenge period ended, which happened to conveniently line up with the holiday break, so that may explain some of the lack of attention to this story until now.)

The Energy-Intensive Manufacturers Working Group on Greenhouse Gas Regulation is represented by John J. McMackin, who serves as a principal for the Williams & Jensen law firm. McMackin also lobbies for coal-carrying freight rail company Norfolk Southern.

The Working Group's members include Alcoa, Corning, Dow, Holcim U.S., NewPage Corporation, Nucor, Owens Corning, Owens-Illinois, PPG, Rio Tinto, and U.S. Steel, according to <a href="https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-111hhrg67814/pdf/CHRG-111hhrg67814.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153, 204);">congressional testimony</a> given by McMackin in 2009.<h3 style="line-height: 1.28205em; margin-top: 1.28205em; margin-bottom: 1.28205em; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif;">Florida Electric Power Coordinating Group</h3>