Supreme Court Declines to Halt New Federal Air Pollution Rules

By Andrew Chung, John Kruzel

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Friday to put on hold new federal air pollution rules from President Joe Biden’s administration aimed at tightening limits on mercury and methane. This decision came in response to challenges from a group of states, primarily Republican-led, and industry groups.

The justices denied emergency requests from the states, as well as from power and mining, oil and gas companies, to halt the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules while litigation continues in lower courts.

These regulations, issued under the landmark Clean Air Act, seek to cut emissions of mercury and other metals from coal-fired power plants, as well as methane and volatile organic compounds from oil and gas production.

The mercury rule commits to tightening limits on toxic metal emissions for all coal plants by 67% and enhances mercury emission limits for lignite coal plants by 70%.

The methane rule includes restrictions on flaring, the practice of burning excess methane during oil and gas production. It mandates oil companies to monitor for leaks at well sites and compressor stations and establishes a program for detecting and reporting large methane releases from so-called “super emitters.”

Despite a 6-3 conservative majority, which has limited EPA powers in significant rulings recently, the Supreme Court allowed these new regulations to proceed. In prior decisions, the court restricted the EPA’s power to enforce the “Good Neighbor” rule to reduce ozone emissions and imposed limits on the agency’s authority under the Clean Air Act to mitigate carbon emissions from coal and gas-fired power plants.