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United States Supreme Court obstructs EPA's 'Great Neighbor' air pollution plan

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday blocked an Environmental Protection Agency policy targeted at reducing ozone emissions that may aggravate air pollution in surrounding states, handing a triumph to three Republicanled states and the steel and fossilfuel industries that had challenged the rule.

The 5-4 decision approved demands by Ohio, Indiana and West Virginia, along with U.S. Steel Corp, pipeline operator Kinder Morgan and market groups, to halt enforcement of the EPA's Good Neighbor plan limiting ozone pollution from upwind states, while they object to the guideline's legality in a. lower court.

The EPA provided the rule in March 2023 intending to target. gases that form ozone, an essential component of smog, from power. plants and other commercial sources in 23 upwind states whose. own plans did not satisfy the Great Neighbor provision of the. Clean Air Act anti-pollution law, needing actions to reduce. pollution that drifts into states downwind.

The agency stated the rule would result in cleaner air for. millions of people, conserving thousands of lives.

The obstacle followed a significant 2022 judgment powered by the. Supreme Court's conservative bulk enforcing limits on the. EPA's authority under the Clean Air Act to minimize coal- and. gas-fired power plant carbon emissions, undermining President. Joe Biden's strategies to tackle environment modification. The court last year. likewise hobbled the EPA's power to protect wetlands and fight water. pollution.

The obstacle to the Good Neighbor rule was brought by. Ohio, Indiana and West Virginia - all targeted by the rule - as. well as pipeline operators, U.S. Steel, regional electrical energy. generators and energy trade associations. In their fit in the. U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, they. argued that the EPA breached a federal law aimed at guaranteeing. firm actions are reasonable.

The D.C. Circuit refused to block the guideline pending its. evaluation, triggering the oppositions to ask the Supreme Court,. which has a 6-3 conservative bulk, to step in.

Challengers have said the rule would impose unreasonable expenses. and destabilize power grids. The Justice Department, safeguarding. the EPA, urged the Supreme Court to think about the major harms. to public health that would arise from obstructing it.

The guideline carried out a federal program that applied to 23. states, but separate challenges in lower courts have already. stopped briefly enforcement in 12 of them, including West Virginia.

During arguments in the event on Feb. 21, some of the. conservative justices focused on the EPA's lack of explanation. for how the plan can work when it now manages just 11 states. rather of 23 as planned. Liberal justices expressed issue. about whether the case called for emergency intervention by the. Supreme Court at this time.

Some of the market requests of the Supreme Court were. specific. Kinder Morgan asked the justices to block the. policy as it applies to gas pipeline engines. U.S. Steel sought to avoid its enforcement versus iron and steel. mill reheating heating systems and boilers. On Jan. 16, the EPA issued a proposed guideline to impose the. Excellent Neighbor plan in five more states: Arizona, Iowa, Kansas,. New Mexico and Tennessee.

The Supreme Court is deciding numerous cases throughout its. present term worrying difficulties to the authority of numerous. federal companies. The justices on May 16 promoted the Customer. Financial Protection Bureau's funding mechanism in an obstacle. brought by the payday loan industry.

The court is expected in the coming days to rule in. other cases including the Securities and Exchange Commission and. the National Marine Fisheries Service.

(source: Reuters)