Republican appointees to the Supreme Court criticized the EPA’s rule on cross-state air pollution during oral arguments Wednesday, as the justices contemplate whether to block the rule as lower legal challenges play out.
Several of the conservative justices, who hold a 6-3 majority, questioned whether the agency should have considered how a plan that spans 23 states could change if litigation meant certain states would not be included.
The EPA announced the plan last March as a national strategy to reduce air pollution that crosses state borders under the “good neighbor” provision of the Clean Air Act. Before that, the agency had rejected state-provided plans from each of the 23 in the program.
