The US Supreme Court refused to delay President Joe Biden’s administration’s new federal air pollution regulations to tighten mercury and methane limits on Friday (Oct 4).
The justices rejected emergency requests from states, as well as utilities and mining, oil and gas companies to halt the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulations while litigation continues in lower courts.
The regulations issued under the Clean Air Act anti-pollution law aim to reduce mercury and other metals from coal-fired power plant emissions, as well as methane and other gases known as volatile organic compounds from oil and gas production.
The mercury rule tightens the cap on trace metal emissions for all coal-fired plants by 67% and tightens the cap on mercury emissions from lignite-fired plants by 70%.
The methane rule issued to limit excess methane flaring during oil and gas production requires oil companies to monitor leaks from well sites and compressor stations.
The rule also creates a new program to detect and report large releases of methane from so-called “super emitters”.
Challengers argue that the EPA has overstepped its authority in issuing unjustified regulations that threaten the US Electricity supply and usurp the role of states in setting emissions standards.
The EPA says that the regulations will benefit Public Health and the environment.
According to the EPA, mercury regulations reduce the risk of heart attack and cancer caused by the pollutant, as well as developmental delays in children.
While restrictions on methane, which has a greater warming potential than carbon dioxide and breaks down in the atmosphere faster, could have a more immediate impact on limiting climate change.
Several parties, including states and fossil fuel industry groups, filed lawsuits to challenge the regulations in the US Court of Appeals.
Although the court rejected the request to stop the regulations, the conservative Supreme Court has previously limited the EPA’s authority in several important cases.
In previous years, the Supreme Court blocked regulations aimed at reducing ozone pollution, limiting the EPA’s authority over wetland protection, and reducing carbon emissions from coal and gas-fired power plants.
