Appeals Court Upholds EPA's Mining Restraints
Source: AP
WASHINGTON (AP) A federal appeals court on Friday upheld the Obama administration's environmental protections designed to reduce water pollution from mountaintop-removal coal mining.
In a 3-0 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said the Environmental Protection Agency acted within its authority when it instituted two measures under the Clean Water Act that address damage from surface mining.
Under a process set up in 2009, EPA began screening mining permit applications made to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, initiating discussions with the Corps on proposed mining projects that EPA considered likely to damage navigable waters.
In 2011, the EPA recommended that states impose more stringent conditions for issuing mining permits. EPA may object if the permit, in the agency's view, does not meet state water quality standards or other provisions of the Clean Water Act.
In the appeals court ruling, Judge Brett Kavanaugh said the EPA's recommendation, known as a "final guidance," is not an agency action reviewable by the courts. If an applicant is denied a permit, the applicant may then challenge the denial in court.
Read more: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=330764168&ft=1&f=ink
freshwest
(53,661 posts)groundloop
(11,488 posts)If so then I believe we all know what can happen there.
freshwest
(53,661 posts)The ruling marks an important step to reducing power plant pollution. Scalia and Thomas (predictably) dissented...
The Supreme Court has given the Environmental Protection Agency an important victory in its effort to reduce power plant pollution that contributes to unhealthy air in neighboring states.
The courts 6-2 decision Tuesday means that a rule adopted by EPA in 2011 to limit emissions from plants in more than two-dozen Midwestern and Southern states can take effect. The pollution drifts into the air above states along the Atlantic Coast and the EPA has struggled to devise a way to control it.
Power companies and several states sued to block the rule from taking effect, and a federal appeals court in Washington agreed with them in 2012.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the courts majority opinion. Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas dissented...*
Read more:
http://www.salon.com/2014/04/29/supreme_court_hands_major_epa_victory_to_obama_administration/
*Afterall, they were so proud of their new uniforms:
And they didn't want to let their sponsors down...
to DonViego:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014791145
We'll see how this one goes... I'm sure Rand *mountain top removal is good for the environment* Paul will be right there to help...