Obama Legacy Gets Second Legal Test Over Climate Rule ‘Goof’

EPA rules could be tossed before they are made final.

Emissions rise as a U.S. flag flies at the American Electric Power Co. Inc. coal-fired John E. Amos Power Plant in Winfield, West Virginia, U.S., on Thursday, July 31, 2014.

Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg
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A congressional drafting error and clunky phrase is putting a second of President Barack Obama’s signature endeavors in jeopardy. This time it’s climate change.

Challengers to Obama’s policies are exploiting imprecise amendments passed by Congress 25 years ago in a lawsuit to derail Environmental Protection Agency rules designed to curb carbon emissions. The case, using a line of attack similar to one against his massive health-care overhaul, is set for a hearing Thursday in federal court.