Supreme Court lets Biden plans on mercury and methane move forward
The Supreme Court said on Friday that it would not stop the Biden administration from enforcing rules to reduce emissions of two pollutants: mercury, a hazardous neurotoxin, and methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
The court’s brief orders did not give reasons, which is typical when the justices act on emergency applications. There were no noted dissents.
The orders followed recent decisions limiting the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to address climate change, water pollution and air pollution that drifts across state lines.
The case concerning mercury began in the spring after the Biden administration moved to tighten emissions standards for hazardous air pollutants from coal-fired power plants.
Under the new guidelines, operators of the plants must, among other things, continuously monitor for some toxins and face stricter limits on a type of coal called lignite, the lowest grade of coal. Power plants have up to three years to comply, with a fourth year available if needed.
Republican attorneys general and industry groups filed suit to block the regulations and asked a federal appeals court to temporarily block the rules from going into effect while their suit was pending. The court denied the request and set an expedited schedule for hearing the case.
In August, several industry groups and state attorneys general asked the Supreme Court to step in.
They said that allowing the standards to take effect would lead to “both swift and irreparable” consequences. The new requirements, they added, did “not come with any meaningful public health benefit” and the EPA could not credibly argue any harm from delaying the rules.
The challengers urged the justices to move quickly and to add the case to its term that begins Monday.
“Given the nature and effect of EPA’s error, there is much to be lost, and little to be gained, from prolonging these proceedings,” they wrote.
Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, in the government’s response, pushed back, saying that delaying the rules harmed “the government and the public.”
She added that the EPA had determined that it needed to revise its emissions standards because new technology made it more efficient and easier to limit pollutants.
About 90% of the country’s coal-fired power plants can already meet the new standards, Prelogar wrote. She added that only two units, both part of a Montana facility, would require “substantial upgrades” to meet the federal rules.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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