The US Supreme Court yesterday upheld an air pollution rule intended to reduce the amount of coal plant emissions that cross state lines.
In a 6-2 decision, the court backed the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR), adopted by the EPA in 2011, which set limits on sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions from power plants in 28 Eastern states and Texas.
A year later, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit overturned the rule after power companies and several states sued to block the regulations. The National Association of Manufacturers applauded the court of appeals’ 2012 ruling, saying CSAPR would have cost an estimated 1.44 million jobs by 2020, and driven up energy prices nationwide by 11.5 percent.
While environmental groups applauded the Supreme Court’s decision on Tuesday, the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity called the ruling “dangerous and costly.”