WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Friday left in place two Biden administration environmental regulations aimed at reducing industrial emissions of planet-warming methane and toxic mercury.
The justices did not elaborate on their reasoning in the orders, which came after a flood of emergency requests from industry groups and Republican-leaning states to block the rules. There were no identified disagreements.
The Supreme Court is still considering challenges to a third rule aimed at curbing planet-warming pollution caused by coal-fired power plants.
The rules are part of a broader effort by the Biden administration to curb climate change, which includes financial incentives for electric vehicle purchases and infrastructure upgrades.
Industry groups and states had argued that the Environmental Protection Agency had overstepped its authority and set unattainable standards. The EPA said the regulations were entirely within its legal responsibility and would protect the public.
The Supreme Court has struck down other environmental regulations in recent years, including a landmark decision that narrow the EPA’s authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants in 2022 and another that struck down the agency’s “good neighbor” rule to combat the Air pollution stopped.
The methane rule places up-to-date demands on the oil and gas industry, which is the largest emitter of the gas that contributes significantly to climate change. A lower court previously refused to stop the regulation.
Methane is the main component of natural gas and is far more effective in the brief term than carbon dioxide. Drastically reducing methane emissions is a global priority to sluggish the pace of climate change.
The methane rule targets emissions from existing oil and gas wells across the country and does not just focus on up-to-date wells. It also regulates smaller wells necessary to locate and plug methane leaks.
Studies have found that smaller wells produce just 6% of the country’s oil and gas, but account for up to half of methane emissions from drilling sites. The plan also includes a phased-in requirement for energy companies to stop routine flaring or burning of natural gas produced from up-to-date oil wells.
The states challenging the rule called the up-to-date standards “impossible to comply with” and said they amounted to an “attack” on the industry.
The mercury rule, meanwhile, came after a reversal of a move by the Trump administration. It updated more than decade-old rules on emissions of mercury and other harmful pollutants that can affect the nervous system, kidneys and fetal development.
Industry groups and conservative-leaning states argued that emissions were already low enough and the up-to-date standards could force the closure of coal-fired power plants.
The EPA said the updates are necessary to protect public health.
