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The U.S. Supreme Court has left in place new federal rules limiting methane and mercury emissions from the oil & gas industry and power plants.

The Court declined a request from industry groups and several Republican state Attorneys General to block new US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules limiting emissions of methane and mercury from going into effect. The new limits on these pollutants will now take effect and be enforceable by EPA while the challenges are heard at the federal trial court level. 

Health and Climate Benefits

EPA spokesperson Remmington Belford told reporters that the new limits tightening methane emissions from oil and gas drilling will deliver major climate and health benefits for all Americans, while the mercury rule will limit hazardous pollution from coal-fired power plants. The methane rule will build on innovative technologies and solutions that many oil- and gas-producing states and companies are already using or have committed to use, Belford said.

“EPA’s vital protections addressing oil and gas methane and air toxics from coal plants are helping ensure healthier, longer lives for millions of people across the country,” said Vickie Patton, General Counsel for the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). “EPA is carrying out our nation’s clean air laws to protect our children and our communities from dangerous air pollution. The recent extreme weather events that have caused death and devastation across large parts of our nation are a stark reminder that we urgently need solutions to address pollution. We need to work together as a nation, and to end this senseless cycle of meritless and obstructionist litigation.” EDF is one of several environmental groups joining the EPA in defending the rules in court. 

“For far too long, oil and gas producers have been allowed to ignore the leaks in their own equipment and let dangerous methane and smog-forming compounds pollute our air,” said David Doniger, a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), another group defending the new rules. “This EPA rule is a simple step forward that says the industry must periodically check its equipment and pipelines for leaks and cut down on flaring. With this crucial and commonsense decision today, the rules will stay in place, and states and the industry must begin to plan to comply with them.” 

Importance of Elections

While the interests of public health prevailed at this stage of the case, the challenge will still be heard at the federal trial court level. Ultimately, the final decision will be made by the same Supreme Court which has wreaked so much havoc to clean water, air, and climate programs since former president Trump stacked that court in favor of polluters. We are reminded again how critical it is to elect executive, legislative, and judicial candidates in this election who will put public health before polluters’ profits.

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