(Washington) The Supreme Court on Friday upheld two environmental regulations from the Biden administration aimed at reducing industrial emissions of methane and toxic mercury, partly responsible for global warming.
The justices did not detail their reasoning in the orders, which came after a wave of emergency requests to block the rules from industry groups and Republican-leaning states. No dissent was noted.
The Supreme Court is still considering challenges to a third rule aimed at reducing global warming pollution from coal-fired power plants.
The regulations are part of a broader effort by the Biden administration to curb climate change, which includes financial incentives for the purchase of electric vehicles and infrastructure upgrades.
Industry groups and states had argued that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) overstepped its authority and set unattainable standards with the new regulations. The EPA said the rules were well within its legal responsibilities and would protect the public.
The Supreme Court has rejected other environmental regulations in recent years, including a landmark ruling that limited the EPA’s authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants in 2022 and another that ended the rule of “good neighborliness” of the agency to fight against air pollution.
The methane rule imposes new requirements on the oil and gas industry, which is the largest emitter of gases contributing significantly to climate change. A lower court previously refused to stay the regulations.
Methane is the main component of natural gas and much more potent than carbon dioxide in the short term. A sharp reduction in methane emissions is a global priority to slow the pace of climate change.
The methane rule targets emissions from existing oil and gas wells nationwide, rather than focusing only on new wells. It also regulates smaller wells that will be needed to find and plug methane leaks.
Studies have shown that these smaller wells produce only 6% of the nation’s oil and gas, but account for up to half of methane emissions from well sites. The plan also includes a phased requirement for energy companies to eliminate routine flaring, or the burning of natural gas produced by new oil wells.
Impossible to respect
States challenging the rule called the new standards “impossible to meet” and said they represented an attack on the industry.
The mercury rule, meanwhile, was put in place after a reversal of a decision by the Trump administration. It updated more than a decade-old regulations on emissions of mercury and other harmful pollutants that can affect the nervous system, kidneys and developing fetus.
Industry groups and conservative-leaning states have argued that emissions are already low enough and that the new standards could force the closure of coal-fired power plants.
The EPA said the updates are necessary to protect public health.
David Doniger, senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council, called both rules essential and applauded the order leaving them in place. He also considered the still-undecided challenges to the power plant rule.
“The court should do the same with the effort to block the EPA’s power plant carbon pollution standards, which are consistent with the very guidelines the court gave it in 2022,” Doniger said.