The Supreme Court on Friday upheld two environmental regulations put in place by the Biden administration.
As part of President Joe Biden‘s push to curb climate change, his administration issued regulations under the Clean Air Act to tighten limits on mercury and methane during energy production.
A group of states, mainly Republican-led ones, and a group of oil, gas and power and mining companies challenged the regulations, arguing that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) overstepped its authority and set “impossible to meet” standards that threaten the U.S. energy supply. They also argued that emissions were already low enough.
Meanwhile, the EPA said that regulations fall within its legal responsibilities and would protect public health. The EPA says that the regulation of mercury reduces the risk of heart attacks and cancer. Additionally, regulating methane can have a more immediate impact on curbing climate change. Methane is the main component in natural gas and breaks down in the atmosphere more quickly than carbon dioxide.
The coalition of states and industry groups asked the Supreme Court to temporarily halt the regulations as the issue continues to be argued in lower courts, but the high court declined to put the rules on hold.
The Supreme Court justices did not detail their reasoning in Friday’s orders and there were no noted dissents.
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The mercury rule limits emissions of toxic metals from all coal plants by 67 percent and limits mercury emissions from lignite coal plants by 70 percent.
Under the methane rule, oil companies must monitor for leaks from well sites and compressor stations. Smaller wells—which studies have found to produce just 6 percent of oil and gas in the U.S. but account for up to half the methane emissions from well sites—are included in the rule. The rule also has a phased-in requirement for energy companies to get rid of routine flaring, the burning of natural gas produced by new oil wells.
The Supreme Court has struck down other environmental regulations in recent years, most notably its 2022 decision that limited the EPA’s authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and a ruling from this past June that temporarily halted the agency from enforcing its “good neighbor” rule, which is intended to restrict emissions from power plants and other industrial sources that pollute downwind areas.
Meanwhile, the court is still considering challenges to a third regulation that limits pollution from coal-fired power plants.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
