The Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday over a challenge to a Biden administration effort to reduce smog and air pollution wafting across state lines in the most significant environmental dispute at the high court this year.
Three Republican-led states, industry groups and electric utilities want the justices to halt the Environmental Protection Agency’s “good neighbor” plan, which imposes strict emission limits on power plants and other industries in upwind states.
Ohio, Indiana and West Virginia filed the emergency request with the Supreme Court in October, claiming the EPA overstepped its authority by imposing those requirements.
Other states led by New York and Connecticut have warned of “dangerous ozone spikes” affecting the health of residents – particularly children and the elderly – if the court sides with their upwind neighbors.
In broad terms, the combined cases are among several this year in which the Supreme Court is being asked to weigh the power of federal agencies to impose regulations. Environmental groups have been dealt a series of significant losses by the court’s conservatives, including a decision in 2022 that limited the EPA’s ability to regulate carbon emissions from power plants.
“Polluting industries always challenge pollution regulations because it costs them money to protect our health,” said Sam Sankar, senior vice president of Earthjustice, one of the groups defending the plan. “We’re hoping that a few members of the court’s right-wing supermajority will remember that they shouldn’t be second-guessing sound judgments about what’s best for our kids’ lungs.”
The Clean Air Act requires the EPA to occasionally review interstate pollution rules to ensure they align with the latest health guidelines. The Obama…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply