Supreme Court blocks EPA's interstate air pollution regulation
The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked a Biden administration environmental regulation aimed at curbing harmful air pollution that crosses from one state to another and contributes to the formation of smog.
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked a Biden administration environmental regulation aimed at curbing harmful air pollution that crosses from one state to another and contributes to the formation of smog.
In doing so, the court on a 5-4 vote granted requests from three Republican-led states — Indiana, Ohio and West Virginia — and various affected industries, including natural gas pipeline operators. The decision is a provisional one, with litigation continuing.
The Environmental Protection Agency regulation applied to 23 states, although lower court rulings meant it was already blocked in a dozen of them.
Environmental groups that had joined to defend the rule, including the Sierra Club and the Environmental Defense Fund, decried the decision.
"Today’s decision is deeply disappointing. It will result almost immediately in pollution that endangers the health of millions of people," the groups said in a statement.
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