The Supreme Court has granted a stay on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) efforts to regulate smog-forming pollutants that may flow across state boundaries.
This decision follows requests from Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia, and various trade organizations, including those representing the fossil fuel industry. These parties have appealed to the Supreme Court in pursuit of halting the EPA’s actions in lower courts.
Here is what Justine Calma reported for The Verge:
The Supreme Court decided to press pause on the Environmental Protection Agency’s plan to prevent smog-forming pollutants from drifting across state borders.
Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia, and various trade organizations including fossil fuel industry groups asked the Supreme Court to issue a stay on the plan while they contest the EPA’s actions in lower courts. SCOTUS agreed to put the plan on hold today in its opinion on Ohio v. Environmental Protection Agency. Five justices voted in favor of halting implementation for now, while the remaining justices dissented.
“If anything, we see one reason for caution after another,” Justice Neil Gorsuch writes in his opinion.
While the stay is temporary, the decision signals that the conservative-leaning Supreme Court is likely to rule in favor of states opposing the EPA’s plan if the issue makes it to the nation’s highest court again for a final decision on the plan’s legal merit. That could make it harder to improve air quality across the nation since air pollutants typically don’t stay in one place.
To read more on the decision, click HERE.
