Flames erupt from a burn pit near a well in the Bakken oil field. The main component of natural gas is methane, which is odorless when discharged directly from a gas well. In addition to methane, natural gas often contains other hydrocarbons such as ethane, propane, butane, and pentane.
Orjan F. EllingvagCorbis News | Getty Images
The Supreme Court on Friday upheld Biden administration regulations aimed at curbing methane emissions from oil and gas facilities, a major contributor to climate change.
In a separate lawsuit, the court also rejected a request to block a separate regulation aimed at curbing emissions of mercury and other toxic pollutants from coal-fired power plants.
In both cases, the court rejected the emergency application without comment or objection. The proceedings will continue in lower courts.
Another emergency filing to block Biden’s rules on greenhouse gas emissions from coal- and gas-fired power plants remains pending.
The court’s decision in the methane case means the Environmental Protection Agency finalized a rule in March aimed at reducing methane emissions. up to 80% It will remain valid for the next 14 years.
Methane is a greenhouse gas that is 80 times more capable than carbon dioxide of trapping heat released into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming.
The regulation has been challenged by Republican states, led by Oklahoma, as well as various oil and gas industry groups.
Challengers have described the rule in stark terms, with industry groups calling it “an autocratic state mandate from the EPA” in court filings. They said the rule goes further than is allowed under the Clean Air Act, which gives states a role in implementing emissions reduction programs.
States similarly argue in court documents that the government is using provisions of the Clean Air Act that were never envisioned to address climate change to “shut down power plants and switch to other sources of electricity generation.”
Deputy Attorney General Elizabeth Preloga, representing the Biden administration, dismissed those concerns, saying in her filing that the agency did not trample state rules when issuing emissions guidance.
“Like all EPA emissions guidance under this provision, these guidance allow states to decide which specific regulations to adopt,” she wrote. She added that the new presumptive standards issued by the EPA “simply provide states with a model that they can choose to rely on.”
According to the EPA, the impact of mercury regulations will be small.
In that case, the court rejected an emergency request from conservative states, Industry groups Wants to block regulations enacted this year by the EPA.
Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA must curb harmful pollutants while considering costs.
The regulation strengthens existing regulations on mercury and other metals such as arsenic and chromium.
In announcing the rule, the EPA April says Regulations introduced by the Obama administration in early 2012 “have driven dramatic reductions in harmful air toxic pollutants.” The report says the new regulations will further limit emissions of mercury and other pollutants, resulting in $300 million in health benefits by reducing exposure to carcinogens.