A case before the Supreme Court gives justices a chance to rein in the Biden administration's abuse of power regarding the EPA and emissions.

Oral arguments in the case, Ohio V. EPA, were heard on Wednesday to determine whether the EPA's Good Neighbor rules about emissions drifting into other states should be stayed in certain states until lawsuits are heard. 

Ohio, Indiana, and West Virginia are the only three states currently affected by the rules because seven straight appeals courts have ruled that the EPA is overstepping its bounds by trying to put limits on emissions that could drift on winds into a neighboring state.

These three states are trying to avoid putting expensive infrastructure in place to comply with the regulations, given that the track record shows they should eventually be able to get the rule struck down.

Onerous requirements

According to the states' brief, “Each permitting process will require rounds of drafting, staff review, public notice, public meetings, and responses to public comments.”

In addition, the brief said, “The States must divert resources away from permitting other infrastructure projects—such as new and expanding power facilities—in order to comply with their compliance burdens under the federal plan. That is no small matter: stopping or slowing progress on other critical infrastructure projects harms the public welfare.”

The states first petitioned the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, but when that court passed on hearing the case, they escalated it to the Supreme Court.

The conservative court seems likely to rule against the EPA. A decision is expected by the summer.

Previous case

The court already curtailed the EPA's power in June 2022 when it ruled 6-3 that it did not have the power to unilaterally regulate carbon emissions that could cause climate change.

In that case, the EPA was prohibited from putting sweeping new rules in place that have not had funding authorized by Congress.

The case dealt with one agency, the EPA, but could be generalized to any agency that tries to put unfunded mandates in place.

In this case, the mandates are at the state level rather than the federal one, but the same basic rule applies.

It's always a positive thing when government abuse is curtailed.

The only problem is that the Biden administration seems to be able to put unworkable, abusive rules in place a lot faster than the courts can strike them down. The system is getting overwhelmed, and Biden knows exactly what he's doing.