SCOTUS Decision Limits U.S. EPA Authority to Regulate Greenhouse Gasses

On June 30, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a significant ruling that limits the U.S. EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions as an air pollutant. Read the OMA’s comment on the 6-3 decision in which the court said Congress — not the EPA — has the power to create a broad system of cap-and-trade regulations to limit carbon emissions from generation sites.

In the majority decision, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that “it is not plausible that Congress gave EPA the authority to adopt on its own such a regulatory scheme.” The agency, however, still has powers under the Clean Air Act to target emissions broadly, and emissions from power plants in particular, according to this analysis. 7/5/2022