On March 22, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit continued its stay of EPA’s Regional Haze Rule. Texas et al. v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, No. 16-60118 (Mar. 22, 2017). The EPA rule would have required power plants in Texas and Oklahoma to install costly and potentially unnecessary upgrades to their generators. Last July, the 5th Circuit granted Texas’ stay motion while rejecting the EPA’s motion to dismiss or transfer, explaining that the plan was likely unlawful, and the costs of compliance with the rule would increase rates for Texas consumers as well as endanger grid reliability if power plants were forced to close. In entering the new order, the court agreed that Texas and Oklahoma had demonstrated a substantial likelihood that the EPA had exceeded its statutory authority when it disapproved the Texas and Oklahoma implementation plans and imposed a federal implementation plan. The court did reject the petitioners’ effort to have the entire rule vacated, and instead granted EPA’s request to remand the rule for reconsideration at the administrative level. This order is not a final decision on the merits, however, and merely maintains the stay in effect.