In June 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposed regulation known as the Clean Power Plan rule. This proposed rule, which is a key component of the President’s Climate Action Plan, is intended to bring about major reductions in emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from existing fossil fuel-fired power plants. In the terminology of the proposed rule, these power plants are called “electric generating units” (EGUs). While the rule deals with all utility-scale fossil fuel power plants, it is mainly concerned with power plants that burn coal.

The proposed rule would not apply to Indian country. At least not on its face. The June proposed rule would require states in which there are covered EGUs (every state except Vermont) to develop plans to reduce emissions to achieve certain targets by 2030. EPA refers to these plans as “section 111(d) plans,” after the section of the Clean Air Act that serves as the basis for the rule. Like other state plans under the Clean Act, these plans will generally not apply to Indian reservations because states lack authority to regulate air emissions from sources within reservations. In any case, there are only four known EGUs located within Indian country, on three reservations, and, on November 4, 2014, EPA published a separate proposed Clean Power Plan rule for Indian country. Under the Indian country proposed rule, the tribes that have EGUs within their reservations would have the option of developing a section 111(d) plan, but, if they choose not to, EPA would develop a federal plan, that is, if EPA determines that such a plan is necessary to achieve emissions reductions goals. As for the tribes that don’t have EGUs on their reservations, the Clean Power Plan rule doesn’t apply to them.

When you take a closer look, however, you can see that the Clean Power Plan rule does have implications for Indian country, some of which are rather profound.