New EPA air pollution requirements upheld

This week, President Obama’s environmental agenda gained a victory.

The Supreme Court revived a 2011 Environmental Protection Agency regulation, known as the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, limiting power-plant emissions blowing across state lines. The ruling will now require 28 states to reduce power-plant emissions, which hurt the air-quality in states located downwind.

The new regulation stands to affect approximately 1,000 power plants in the eastern half of the U.S., many of which may have to adopt new pollution controls or reduce operations. The decision could further threaten the viability of some coal plants already facing other market and regulatory pressures.

Legal experts said the decision, written by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, signaled that the Obama administration’s efforts to use the Clean Air Act to fight global warming were indeed legal.

 

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