The Supreme Court handed down their final rulings of the term on Thursday, one of which dealt blows to the EPA’s power over regulation of greenhouse gas emissions.
The 6-3 majority of Justices Alito, Coney-Barrett, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Roberts, and Thomas ruled in favor of the state of West Virginia that the EPA doesn’t have the power to restrict greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants. The Justices ruled that Congress, not the EPA, must make any and all regulatory changes to current power plant emission laws. This reverses years of precedent that Congress is allowed, and encouraged, to pass off regulatory lawmaking to their expert agencies.
In her strongly worded dissent, Justice Elena Kagan said “Whatever else this Court may know about, it does not have a clue about how to address climate change. And let’s say the obvious: The stakes here are high. Yet the Court today prevents congressionally authorized agency action to curb power plants’ carbon dioxide emissions. The Court appoints itself–instead of Congress or the expert agency–the decision-maker on climate policy. I cannot think of many things more frightening. Respectfully, I dissent.”
Governor Janet Mills was quick to respond to the decision calling it a “flawed and shortsighted decision,” and “an offense to Maine people.” In her press release, Governor Mills continued, saying “It undermines one of our nation’s signature environmental protections–the Clean Air Act, crafted by Maine’s own Ed Muskie and reauthorized under George Mitchell–and it significantly hinders our country’s ability to tackle the climate crisis.” She also issued a stern warning, saying that “Maine and the nation will pay the price for years to come.”
Senator Angus King issued his own remarks following the decision, saying that “This is the latest ideologically-driven opinion from this Court, and the ruling opens the door for it to strike down other vital regulations; our nation and our planet are less safe due to their judicial activism and heedlessness to the real-world results of their actions. Unfortunately, the three Justices advanced by the previous administration continue to validate my decisions to oppose their confirmations.” King continued by evoking Muskie’s name much like Mills, saying that “I set at Edmund Muskie’s desk…I will be carrying his legacy forward among my colleagues, and reminding them of our sacred responsibility to protect our country and our planet for future generations.”
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree of Maine’s first district also commented on the ruling, saying that “[T]his decision will set us back years in the fight against climate change. Now, instead of Congress passing a law and allowing the Administration the agility and scientific experience to implement that law, every small regulation will require congressional approval.”
Senator Susan Collins and Congressman Jared Golden had not provided statements at time of writing.
