AUGUSTA, ME – Today, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can no longer regulate climate pollution from power plants, the second-largest contributor to climate change in the United States. The landmark case brought to the highest court this year – West Virginia v. EPA – called the EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from stationary sources into question.
Today, decades of established EPA authority and precedent under the Clean Air Act to limit pollution and protect public health were cast aside by the Court’s partisan far-right majority.
Maine Conservation Voters’ Program Manager William Sedlack, JD, MPPM, issued the following statement in response to today’s ruling:
“Coal companies and their allies have captured the Supreme Court and in doing so, have stripped the EPA of its ability to set the strong standards we need to cut carbon pollution and protect public health here in Maine and across the country. West Virginia v. EPA will go down in history as one of the most devastating and dangerous environmental Supreme Court cases of our lifetimes. It is imperative that Mainers continue fighting for climate action at the state and local levels.”