The Supreme Court has decided not to intervene in a request from several states and industry groups seeking to temporarily block a series of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations introduced by the Biden administration. These regulations are designed to reduce carbon emissions from coal- and gas-fired power plants.
In a brief statement issued on Wednesday, Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch noted that the challengers are not required to commence compliance efforts until June. Consequently, they are unlikely to experience irreparable harm before a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., reviews the case’s merits. “So this Court understandably denies the stay applications for now,” Kavanaugh and Gorsuch wrote.
Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas stated he would have favored granting the request from the states and groups. Meanwhile, Justice Samuel Alito, another conservative, recused himself from the case.
The Supreme Court’s order followed the rejection of emergency requests from West Virginia, Indiana, and 25 other states to suspend the EPA rule. This regulation targets a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and mandates that coal-fired power plants and new natural gas-fired generators install equipment over the next decade to capture emissions before they enter the atmosphere.
The case will proceed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Depending on the outcome, it could be brought before the Supreme Court once again. West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey expressed in a statement, “This is not the end of this case.” Fox News Digital has reached out to the EPA for comments regarding the matter.