As the current administration is pushing a strong climate change narrative, the SCOTUS limited the power of the EPA.

From 6abc. The Supreme Court on Thursday limited the Environmental Protection Agency’s power to fight climate change.

View Comments (6)

Who is praying on the wall?

The case involved how far the federal government could go in regulating greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.

The court held that Congress did not grant EPA in Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act the authority to devise emissions caps based on the generation shifting approach the Agency took in the Clean Power Plan, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing for the 6-3 conservative majority.

Roberts wrote that the only question before the court was “whether the ‘best system of emission reduction’ identified by EPA in the Clean Power Plan was within the authority granted to the Agency in Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act. For the reasons given, the answer is no….”

The landmark Clean Air Act of 1970 charged EPA with protecting human health from dangerous airborne contaminants, which the Supreme Court has twice affirmed to include greenhouse gasses.

The law currently lets the agency craft pollution limits based on the “best system of emission reduction” available, but there is disagreement over whether the law prohibits consideration of measures “outside the fence line” of a particular plant, such as shifting to alternative sources of power generation or emission trading programs….

The U.S. power sector is the nation’s second-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions with more than 3,300 fossil fuel-fired power plants, including 284 coal-fired facilities, according to the Energy Information Agency….

The plaintiffs in the case — a coalition of Republican-led states and coal and mining companies — argued that overly-aggressive EPA regulation threatens to “reshape the power grids and seize control over electricity production nationwide,” imperiling thousands of American jobs….

The Supreme Court decided the case even though EPA does not currently have a power plant carbon dioxide regulation in force….

Are you thankful for this ruling? If so, share this article with your friends and family!

(Excerpt from 6abc. Photo Credit: Getty Images)