In a 5-4 decision, the justices handed a win to three Republican-led states — Indiana, Ohio and West Virginia — as well as US Steel, pipeline operator Kinder Morgan and other steel and fossil fuel industry groups that had contested the policy.
The Supreme Court temporarily blocked a Biden administration policy meant to reduce cross-state air pollution Thursday, preventing it from taking effect while lower court litigation played out.
In a 5-4 decision, the justices handed a win to three Republican-led states — Indiana, Ohio and West Virginia — as well as US Steel, pipeline operator Kinder Morgan and other steel and fossil fuel industry groups that had contested the policy.
The Environmental Protection Agency triggered the challenge in March 2023 when it proposed a rule that would have applied to power plants and other industrial sources of ozone in 23 upwind states whose own emission-reduction plans were found to run afoul of the so-called “Good Neighbor” provision of the federal Clean Air Act.
The “Good Neighbor” rule is meant to assist downwind states such as New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin comply with federal air quality standards.
Writing for the majority, Justice Neil Gorsuch found that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed in their claim that the proposed EPA rule was “arbitrary” and not “reasonably explained.
