Joe Biden’s EPA likely violated federal law with its ozone plan, the Supreme Court held on Thursday, granting a stay requested by Ohio and a coalition of states.
Joe Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) likely violated federal law with its ozone plan, the Supreme Court held on Thursday, granting a stay requested by Ohio and a coalition of states.
“The Clean Air Act envisions States and the federal government working together to improve air quality. Under that law’s terms, States bear primary responsibility for developing plans to achieve air-quality goals,” Justice Neil Gorsuch began for the majority. “Should a State fail to prepare a legally compliant plan, however, the federal government may sometimes step in and assume that authority for itself.”
“Here, the federal government announced its intention to reject over 20 States’ plans for controlling ozone pollution,” Gorsuch continued in the 5-4 decision. “In their place, the government sought to impose a single, uniform federal plan [called a FIP]. This litigation concerns whether, in adopting that plan, the federal government complied with the terms of the Act.”
“Because air currents can carry pollution across state borders, emissions in upwind States sometimes affect air quality in downwind States. To address that externality problem, under the Act’s Good Neighbor Provision,” he explained, “state plans must prohibit emissions in amounts which will . . . contribute significantly to nonattainment in, or interfere with maintenance by, any other State of the relevant air-quality standard.”
“Because the States bear primary responsibility for developing compliance plans, EPA has no authority to question the wisdom of a State’s choices of emission limitations,” the majority held, quoting precedent.
