Press Releases
06/27/2024
Commissioner Dykes Statement on US Supreme Court Decision Striking Down the Good Neighbor Rule
(HARTFORD, CT) – Today, the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily blocked the “Good Neighbor Rule” in a 5-4 decision that will make it more difficult for states and the federal government to effectively combat pollution and improve air quality across the country.
“Today’s Supreme Court decision in Ohio v. EPA fails to acknowledge the ongoing inequities caused by interstate air pollution, especially in a state like Connecticut whose residents are overburdened by exposure to air pollution that is beyond our authority to regulate,” DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes said.
The Court’s decision stays the implementation of an EPA rule that would have required polluters in upwind states whose noxious emissions contribute to the formation of smog in Connecticut at levels that exceed federal health-based limits to take reasonable steps to limit their emissions. These steps can be as simple as operating air pollution control equipment that is already installed. Instead, the majority of the Court suggested that EPA committed a fatal procedural error by not re-issuing a new rule each time a state successfully argued it should not be subject to EPA’s rule.
For several decades, Connecticut’s citizens have suffered the public health and economic impacts from our inability to meet federal health-based standards for ozone (smog). Connecticut has experienced some of the highest levels of ozone along the east coast, including 19 days with unhealthy ozone levels last year, putting our residents’ health at risk. On many of these days, poor air quality in Connecticut was directly linked to pollution from outside our borders that combines with and worsens the impact of localized emissions. Unhealthy air affects our most vulnerable populations, especially those who reside in urban centers across Connecticut, and is an issue that crosses political lines as much as it does state lines.
Commissioner Dykes continued, “While we have made great strides in implementing an entire suite of control strategies to reduce air pollution in Connecticut, only the federal government can address air pollution that originates from outside of our borders. The Supreme Court’s decision has the potential to undermine Connecticut’s efforts on both the state and local levels. It also calls into sharp focus the urgent need to reduce air pollution from sources that are within our authority to control.
The EPA rule will continue to be reviewed by a lower court but now faces strong headwinds as this decision assumes – without review of the full entire record – that the polluters challenging this rule are likely to succeed on the merits. While experts expect additional litigation will take years to play out—and our Attorney General is a leader on that front—the message to Connecticut is as clear as we wish our air was – learn to live with this pollution.
While today’s decision is a setback for our long-standing efforts to achieve clean air and address climate change, Connecticut remains committed to pursuing all necessary strategies to reduce emissions from high-emitting sectors like transportation to achieve our environmental goals and to protect the health of Connecticut residents.”
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