Supreme Court Sides with EPA in Clean Air Dispute

Lynn Schenkman

Washington, D.C. -- The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the federal government can force states to follow national pollution control measures rather than less restrictive state-mandated regulations, new sources report. Therefore, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) now is able to force an Alaskan zinc mine to install equipment designed to reduce pollution by 90 percent rather than the previously agreed-upon state-ordered equipment that would cut pollution by 30 percent. The decision was part of a debate over whether the Clean Air Act grants the EPA authority to override states’ decisions.