In June, the United States Supreme Court wrapped up the 2022-23 term much like the previous one. In late May, the court undercut the ability of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate water pollution under the Clean Water Act. That came nearly a year after it curtailed the EPA’s authority to broadly regulate emissions from power plants. This continued barrage on federal environmental regulations leaves us in a precarious spot.“The vice in both instances is the same,” Justice Elena Kagan wrote in a dissenting opinion on the water pollution ruling, “the Court’s appointment of itself as the national decision-maker on environmental policy”.In April, the Biden administration proposed ambitious new regulations to reduce methane pollution, tighten fuel-efficiency standards, and curtail emissions from power plants – essential steps for slashing national emissions in half by 2030. As opponents bring new legal challenges before a sympathetic Supreme Court, we cannot assume these measures will stand.
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