Mike Thinks: Trump Administration Tries To Ignore Cross State Air Pollution Rules -- And Is Rejected By Courts

President Trump has been on a mission to roll back all environmental regulations set in place during his predecessor's administration (Obama administration). The most significant obstacle in his way is the legislation that was passed by Congress a few years ago. This states that to change existing law (i.e., regulations), the new environmental rule must deliver more significant benefits to the environment. Meaning that the new rules must be better (not worse) for the environment. At least in principle, the legislation is written that way. But President Trump continues to not see the reality of the language.

Politico reports this week that the Trump Administration's EPA lost in court again by rejection:

LIKE A GOOD NEIGHBOR: The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday rejected the Trump administration's effort to forgo further "good neighbor" requirements designed to prevent air pollution from wafting across state lines, Pro's Alex Guillén reports.

At issue is EPA's 2018 determination that upwind states have done enough to curb their ozone-forming pollution — known as the "CSAPR close-out." Tuesday's ruling comes after another panel of judges in September determined a 2016 update to the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule was inadequate. A three-judge panel said Tuesday that EPA relied on the same flawed reading of the Clean Air Act in both cases, and wrote the agency "acknowledges that under the rule, upwind states will continue contributing significantly to downwind nonattainment in 2021."

What's the decision mean? Power plants and other major emitters in much of the Midwest and South may have to install new pollution controls or find other ways to limit emissions of ozone-forming pollutants that contribute to poor air quality in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, Alex reports. EPA also "still retains some flexibility" to administer the Clean Air Act's "good neighbor" provision when it revisits the regulation, the panel of judges said. An EPA spokesperson told ME the agency was reviewing the opinion.

Thank goodness for legislation written into law by Congress. The result, as stated above, is that states upwind with coal-fired power plants must install measures or reduce pollution which blows downwind (i.e., across state lines). This is not only an excellent legal practice of enforcing regulations, but the law also held up above reduces air pollution, which causes unnecessary hospital visits for Americans who live downwind of these major polluters.

We (as a society) should be promoting corporations who change their processes, which damages the environment to environmentally friendlier ones. Further, we should be calling/emailing/mailing letters to our elected politicians to support legislation which promotes a healthier society along with a healthier planet. The actions taken above by the courts show that the legal system is upholding the law, which benefits the nation and the world at large.

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