Supreme Court Sides with Polluters and Puts Health at Risk June 27, 2024

Contact: Miah Hornyak, mhornyak@psr.org

Today in a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court put a hold on EPA’s impactful and health-protective Good Neighbor Plan, a significant setback for clean air nationwide. The Good Neighbor Plan regulates cross-state air pollution, as outlined in the Clean Air Act as a responsibility of EPA, in order to protect the health of people downwind from industries emitting dangerous pollutants. The regulated pollutants contribute to ozone, more commonly known as smog. 

Ozone negatively impacts health, leading to an increase in hospitalizations and can, in the worst cases, lead to premature death. Exposure over time can lead to respiratory impacts like asthma, an increased risk of diabetes, and harm to the reproductive system. While we are all affected by ozone pollution, vulnerable populations like children, outdoor workers, the elderly, and people with pre-existing respiratory conditions are particularly susceptible to its negative health impacts. EPA projects that the Good Neighbor Plan would prevent approximately 1,300 premature deaths in 2026, the first year that pollution reductions would take effect. 

The court cites the “irreparable harm” that the Good Neighbor Plan would inflict on many of the states currently regulated under the policy, all while ignoring the health harms imposed on millions of Americans in downwind states that this decision will leave unprotected. It is evident that the Supreme Court’s right-wing majority has been captured by polluters and no longer has the interest of the people in mind.