The Supreme Court has issued a ruling that puts the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) 'good neighbor' plan to limit downwind pollution from power plants on hold. The plan, which aims to restrict smokestack emissions from power plants and other industrial sources that burden downwind areas with smog-causing pollution, has been met with opposition from several states and industry groups. The court's decision comes as a blow to the Biden administration's efforts to address air quality issues.
The EPA argued that blocking the national rule would delay efforts to control pollution that contributes to unhealthy air in downwind states and go against Congress' directive that sources in upwind states must assume responsibility for their contributions to emissions levels in downwind states. However, three states, Ohio, Indiana, and West Virginia, challenged the federal plan directly in an appeals court before the Supreme Court stepped in.
The ruling is provisional and challenges to the plan will continue to be litigated in an appeals court and could then return to the Supreme Court. The decision represents a major setback for environmental regulators and President Joe Biden's climate and environmental agenda.
Randy Rule, a Warren man, has been accused of stealing over $140,000 from the Surrey Point II Homeowners Association while he was its president. Rule is alleged to have submitted falsified invoices for work that was never performed and some of these invoices were from non-existent companies. The indictment claims the theft took place over a seven-year period starting in 2015.
The EPA's 'good neighbor' plan initially applied to 23 states, with factories and power plants in Western and Midwestern states required to cut ozone pollution that drifts into Eastern ones. The Clean Air Act allows states to devise their own plans, subject to approval by the EPA. In February 2023, the agency concluded that 23 states had not produced adequate plans to comply with its revised ozone standards and issued its own plan.
The decision by the Supreme Court is a win for Republican-led states and industry groups against the Environmental Protection Agency's good neighbor plan. The stay places implementation of the Biden program on hold through a complicated legal fight expected to continue past the November election and into next year, possibly another presidential administration.