In a rare instance where the corporate-serving Roberts Court ruled in favor of the public, the Supreme Court ruled 6 to 2 (with Alito recusing himself, and Scalia and Thomas naturally siding with the polluters) to uphold the EPA's cross-state air pollution rules. The rules are meant to enforce tighter air quality standards on so-called "upwind States" whose industrial and power plant air pollution travels across state lines. The ruling gives EPA the authority to better enforce the Clean Air Act against major air polluters who have fought the regulations for years. As the American Lung Association said, referring to the ruling:
“People who live downwind of these major polluters need this decision, because the ozone and particle pollution in their communities threatens their lives."The EPA estimates that the cross-state air pollution regulations will save from 13,000 to 34,000 lives, and tens of thousands of cases of aggravated asthma and bronchitis. It was a good day for our lungs and our nation.
