The SCOTUS carbon factor

Source: BY MATTHEW CHOI, Politico • Posted: Sunday, March 27, 2022

EPA Administrator Michael Regan offered a cloudy outlook on the future of the Biden administration’s forthcoming greenhouse gas regulation, saying the upcoming Supreme Court ruling on EPA’s authority makes doing so “a tough call.”

“I think we’re watching very closely and weighing all of our options,” he told the American Council on Renewable Energy’s policy forum. “Obviously, it’s our hope that the decision will stay on that more narrow side.”

The high court is considering a case challenging EPA’s authority on regulating power plants’ greenhouse gas pollution argued last month, with Republican states contending EPA had no authority to enact the kinds of wide-ranging carbon cuts that Democrats have sought. The court halted the Obama-era Clean Power Plan in 2016, and the Biden administration is aware it will likely not be able to pursue a replacement proposal with the same reach.

Still, Regan said he would propose a number of regulations in the coming months on conventional pollutants, wastewater discharge, coal ash and other power-generation-related pollution.