Rare EPA Court Victory Hints at Fossil Fuels Future
On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to uphold new EPA air pollution rules that tighten limits on emissions of mercury and methane for coal plants. The court’s decision is a loss for the group of 24 GOP-led states that had challenged the rules in August, about seven months after they were introduced, and a rare win for the EPA.
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In recent years, a conservative-leaning Supreme Court has restricted EPA powers in a number of landmark cases. In West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency in June 2022, the Court ruled 6-3 that the agency had overstepped its authority in implementing the Obama-era Clean Power Plan, which aimed to set industry-wide limits on carbon emissions. In June 2024, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to block the EPA’s “Good Neighbor” rule, which aimed to reduce interstate ozone emissions.
The court did not provide reasoning behind its Friday decision to uphold new mercury and methane limits, but there were no noted dissents. While litigation over new standards will continue in the lower courts, the Court’s decision signals a degree of judicial nuance that may herald future wins for the EPA in its ongoing legal battles.
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