On Tuesday, the Supreme Court handed down a decision on a case from several Republican states and coal companies that will gut the EPA’s power.
This will be a huge setback for the Biden Administration who has tried to use the EPA’s authority to shift the nation toward green energy sources and away from coal.
“The Supreme Court sharply curtails the authority of the EPA to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions that cause climate change. In a 6-3 ruling, the court sides with conservative states and fossil-fuel companies in adopting a narrow reading of the Clean Air Act,” tweeted the SCOTUS blog.
Now, the EPA can’t apply broad strokes at limiting carbon pollution and instead must impose specific restrictions on an individual basis toward coal energy plants.
The case began during the Obama administration after he passed the Clean Air Act. The EPA tried to issue a plan to reduce carbon dioxide from power plants by using energy credits. Several organizations and Republican states sued.
Koin 6 covered the case back in February and what it could do to the EPA.
The North American Coal Corporation said the EPA wanted the ability “to effectively dictate not only the technical details of how a coal plant operates, but also the big picture policy of how the nation generates its electricity.”
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Consolidated Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric Co., two large utility companies, backed the Justice Department against the Supreme Court. They said about the decision:
EPA regulation “is critical to the power companies. For years power companies have used emissions trading, generation shifting, and other measures to reduce emissions while keeping the lights on at reasonable cost.”
This is a huge win for states rights against the federal government and allows states to define their own energy policies. This Supreme Court has been making a lot of landmark decision. How would you rate this Supreme Court?
