Supreme Court blocks enforcement of EPA's 'good neighbor' rule on downwind pollution
The Environmental Protection Agency won't be able to enforce a key rule limiting air pollution in nearly a dozen states while separate legal challenges proceed around the country
WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency will not be able to enforce a key rule limiting air pollution in nearly a dozen states while separate legal challenges proceed around the country, under a Supreme Court decision Thursday.
The EPA’s “good neighbor” rule is intended to restrict smokestack emissions from power plants and other industrial sources that burden downwind areas with smog-causing pollution.
Three energy-producing states — Ohio, Indiana and West Virginia — challenged the rule, along with the steel industry and other groups, calling it costly and ineffective. The rule is on hold in a dozen other states because of the court challenges.
The Supreme Court put the rule on hold while legal challenges continue, the conservative-led court’s latest blow to federal regulations.
The high court, with a 6-3 conservative majority, has increasingly reined in the powers of federal agencies, including the EPA, in recent years. The justices have restricted EPA’s authority to fight air and water pollution, including a landmark 2022 ruling that limited EPA’s authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants that contribute to global warming. The court also shot down a vaccine mandate and blocked Democratic President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program.
The court is also weighing whether to overturn its 40-year-old Chevron decision, which has been the basis for upholding a wide range of regulations on public health, workplace safety and consumer protections.
A look at the good neighbor rule and the implications of the
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