US Supreme Court refuses to temporarily suspend EPA mercury, methane rules By Reuters
By Andrew Chung, John Kruzel
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday rejected new air pollution rules from President Joe Biden's administration to tighten restrictions on mercury and methane, joining challenges brought by a group of states – most of them Republican-led. – and industry groups.
The justices have denied emergency requests by states, as well as energy and mining, oil and gas companies, to freeze the Environmental Protection Agency's rules while the trial continues in lower courts.
The rules, issued under the landmark anti-pollution legislation the Clean Air Act, aim to cut mercury and other metals from emissions from coal-fired power plants, as well as methane and other gases known as volatile organic compounds from oil and gas production.
The mercury law tightened limits on emissions of toxic metals from all coal plants by 67% and tightened limits on mercury emissions from lignite coal plants by 70%.
The methane law banned flaring — the burning of excess methane during oil and gas production — and required oil companies to monitor leaks from wells and pressure stations. It also created a new system to detect and report large methane emissions from so-called “super emitters.”
Challengers argue that the EPA has overstepped its authority in issuing unfair regulations that threaten the US electricity supply and usurp the states' role in setting emissions standards.
The regulations will benefit public health and the climate, the EPA said.
The rule of mercury reduces the risk of heart attacks and cancer caused by such pollution, as well as the delay in the development of children, while reining in methane, which has more warming potential than carbon dioxide and breaks down in the air quickly, can be more. immediate impact on mitigating climate change, according to the EPA.
Challengers including states, fossil industry groups, and energy, mining and oil and gas companies filed multiple lawsuits in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which in July and August rejected requests to stay the pending rules. its review.
The Supreme Court, by a 6-3 majority, has limited the EPA's authority in some important decisions in recent years.
In June, the court blocked the EPA's “Good Neighbor” rule aimed at reducing ozone emissions that could exacerbate air pollution in neighboring states. In 2023, the court overturned the EPA's authority to protect wetlands and combat water pollution. In 2022, it limited the agency's authority under the Clean Air Act to reduce coal and gas power plant emissions.
