Coal Emissions Put on Hold

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned an EPA regulation on mercury emissions from coal fired plants. The basis was that the EPA had failed to properly evaluate the cost of the regulations. The fossil fuel industry took this as a great victory, assuming SCOTUS was finding in their favor on the regulations. Of course, that is pure silliness and no logical person would make any assumption on how the court would decide on the merits of the regulations.

Well, we now have a better indicator.

Unbelievably, 20 states petitioned the court to overturn the regulations completely while waiting for the lower courts to rule on the issue. If the states had prevailed, the coal-fired plants would have been free to emit as much as they wanted.

Let me ask you something. Why in the world would 20 states be interested in allowing the air their citizens breath to be polluted with toxic fumes? Why in the world would 20 states want to allow the water their citizens drink to be polluted with toxic pollution? Why in the world would 20 states want the food chain in their states, and states down wind, to be polluted with poisonous waste? Do you think it might be because billionaires are making a pile of money off of it?

Well, bad news for the state governments and their billionaire supporters - SCOTUS turned down their request. Specifically, Chief Justice Roberts rejected their petition, keeping the EPA standards in place until a lower court rules on the merits of the regulations.

That's one for the people and environment.