SACE Applauds Supreme Court Decision to Uphold Cross-State Air Pollution Standard
The Southeast to Benefit from Decision that Reinstates Life-Saving Clean Air Rule
Contact: Jennifer Rennicks, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, 865-235-1448
Knoxville, Tenn. (April 29, 2014) – Today, the United States Supreme Court upheld an important public health safeguard that will protect up to 240 million Americans who live downwind from dangerous air pollution that drifts across state lines from coal-dependent states. By upholding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR), the Supreme Court has once again upheld the EPA’s authority under the Clean Air Act to address dangerous pollution and protect our communities. The Supreme Court’s 6-2 decision means that CSAPR, adopted by EPA in 2011 to limit the emission of dangerous air pollutants in more than two-dozen states along the Atlantic Coast, can finally take effect. We welcome the Supreme Court’s decision as it allows the Agency to move forward with regulation of these harmful air pollutants rather than force EPA to go back to the regulatory drawing board.
“Today is a decisive victory in EPA’s battle for cleaner air, especially for those of us who live in downwind states,” said Dr. Stephen A. Smith, executive director of Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. “Our Southeastern states comprise a significant amount of the states affected by EPA’s CSAPR and the negative effects of interstate air pollution. Now that the Supreme Court has reinstated CSAPR, those of us living in the Southeast can breathe a little easier knowing that EPA can now regulate harmful pollution that drifts down from our neighbors to the north.”
CSAPR will reduce the amount of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emitted from coal-fired power plants across 28 states along the Atlantic Coast. These harmful air pollutants contribute significantly to soot and smog in downwind states that can cause dangerous, if not lethal human health effects.
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Founded in 1985, the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy is a nonprofit organization that promotes responsible energy choices that create global warming solutions and ensure clean, safe, and healthy communities throughout the Southeast. Learn more at www.cleanenergy.org