Supreme Court Lets Another Environmental Rule Stand, For Now

The Supreme Court on Wednesday denied a request to block an Environmental Protection Agency rule regarding coal ash pollution, continuing a recent trend of denying emergency requests on rules that they will almost certainly help gut somewhere down the line.

The rule, finalized in April, required “the safe management of coal ash that is placed in areas that were unregulated at the federal level until now, including at previously used disposal areas that may leak and contaminate groundwater.” This polluter’s loophole was previously taken advantage of by at least 320 plants around the country; living nearby one of those is extremely hazardous to human health.

A utility company called the East Kentucky Power Cooperative applied for an immediate stay of the rule, arguing that the rule exceeded statutory authority. On Wednesday, with no noted dissents, the Court denied that application in a single unexplained sentence, as is generally the case when it responds to emergency petitions. This follows on similar rulings regarding the EPA’s efforts to limit carbon emissions from power plants, as well as mercury and methane emissions; once these cases make it through appeals courts fully, though, it is fair to expect the Roberts Court will do what it has always done and help gut the EPA’s authority.

Environmental groups celebrated the new denial. “We are pleased to see that the Supreme Court has allowed this rule to stay in place, and we are prepared to fight against any future attempts to walk back the progress we have made,” the Sierra Club’s chief energy officer, Holly Bender, said in a statement. “For too long, the coal industry has left communities to suffer from the negative health effects of coal ash exposure. The EPA’s legacy coal ash rule will protect the health and well-being of everyday Americans by preventing big polluters from walking away from the damage they cause and requiring them to address the threat to our health that coal burning poses.”