Texas air pollution will still affect New Mexico despite court's backing ... - Santa Fe New Mexican
Texas air pollution will still affect New Mexico despite court's backing of EPA rule | Local News | santafenewmexican.com
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has won a legal battle in its pursuit of a rule that prevents states from emitting harmful pollutants to downwind neighbors, but the war is far from over in some oil-producing regions, including Texas.
A federal appellate court in Washington ruled against Utah’s attempt to block the EPA from imposing its “good neighbor” guidelines after the agency rejected that state’s plan for containing most air pollution within its borders.
Although environmental groups hailed the court’s 2-1 decision, saying it will cover many states besides Utah, one state whose air pollution it won’t affect is Texas, which is of the most concern to New Mexico.
u A federal appeals court rejected Utah’s request to block the Environmental Protection Agency from imposing its “good neighbor” rule aimed at preventing air pollution from drifting into nearby states.
u The court’s decision won’t affect Texas, which obtained a stay in May from a different federal appeals court. An environmental attorney says Texas has no substantial good-neighbor plan to keep its industries, including oil and gas, from spewing pollution into New Mexico.
u This stay is temporary, and EPA will have a chance at a later hearing to plead for the appeals court to lift the stay and let the agency implement its good-neighbor rule.
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More than 30 years after the last major update of the Clean Air Act, the U.S. Supreme Court has upended the ability of Congress to give the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies broad scope to combat air pollution, including the emission of greenhouse gases. Meanwhile, further Biden administration efforts to limit emissions face opposition in the courts.