The Patriot Post® · Supremes Decline Review of EPA Rules

The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to hear a challenge to the EPA’s ground-level ozone rules. According to The Hill, “The Monday decision leaves intact the 75 parts-per-billion ozone standard put in place by the Bush administration, lowered from the previous 80 parts per billion.” The Obama administration is expected to announce in December whether it will further restrict standards, possibly reducing the limit to 60 parts per billion. As we noted three years ago when that idea first surfaced, a manufacturer’s study pegged the economic damage of those new regulations at $1.7 trillion annually, with a corresponding overall loss of 7.3 million jobs. Furthermore, while currently available technology can shave a few parts per billion off at relatively little cost, to attain such a stringent standard could force corporations to choose between moving operations offshore or filing for bankruptcy. The Supreme Court, meanwhile, has generally had a hands-off approach with the EPA as the latter seeks to crush the economy in the name of a political agenda. More…