The Supreme Court stopped the EPA’s Good Neighbor Plan

The Illinois Good Neighbor Plan: Implications of the EPA’s Clean Air Quality Rules for Public Works Laws in the United States

Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia, and various trade organizations including fossil fuel industry groups asked the Supreme Court to issue a stay on the plan while they contest the EPA’s actions in lower courts. SCOTUS decided to put the plan on hold in a ruling today. Five justices voted in favor of halting implementation for now, while the remaining justices dissented.

The Good Neighbor plan is designed to ensure compliance with the 2015 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards law. To carry out the law’s mandate, the EPA required “upwind” states to reduce air pollution affecting “downwind” states. Under the Good Neighbor rule, states are first given the chance to create a plan that complies with agency’s ozone guidelines. If a state fails to submit an adequate plan, the EPA then designs a compliance plan for the state. The EPA decided to set up its own emissions-control program for 23 states after they determined they had not provided enough plans.

The rules would be fully enforced in six years but many states objected. In 12 states the plan has already been stayed. Ohio and the other states that are part of the lawsuit say the other states would face economic hardship if they were forced to comply. They think the plan will ultimately be struck down in court and that it wouldn’t make sense to begin implementing it at this time.