Supreme Court leaves in place two Biden environmental regulations

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Supreme Court leaves in place two Biden environmental regulations

2024-10-05 03:04 Last Updated At：03:10

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court left in place Friday two Biden administration environmental regulations aimed at reducing industry emissions of planet-warming methane and toxic mercury.

The justices did not detail their reasoning in the orders, which came after a flurry of emergency applications to block the rules from industry groups and Republican-leaning states. There were no noted dissents.

The high court is still considering challenges to a third rule aimed at curbing planet-warming pollution from coal-fired power plants.

The regulations are part of a broader effort by the Biden administration aimed at curbing climate change that includes financial incentives to buy electric vehicles and upgrade infrastructure.

The industry groups and states had argued the Environmental Protection Agency overstepped its authority and set unattainable standards with the new regulations. The EPA, though, said the rules are squarely within its legal responsibilities and would protect the public.

The Supreme Court has shot down other environmental regulations in recent years, including a landmark decision that limited the EPA’s authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants in 2022 and another that halted the agency’s air-pollution-fighting “good neighbor” rule.

The methane rule puts new requirements on the oil and gas industry, which is the largest emitter of the gas that’s a key contributor to climate change. A lower court previously refused to halt the regulation.

Methane is the main component in natural gas and far more potent than carbon dioxide in the short term. Sharp cuts in methane emissions are a global priority to slow the rate of climate change.

The methane rule targets emissions from existing oil and gas wells nationwide, rather than focusing only on new wells. It also regulates smaller wells that will be required to find and plug methane leaks.

Studies have found that smaller wells produce just 6% of the nation’s oil and gas but account for up to half the methane emissions from well sites. The plan also calls for a phased-in requirement for energy companies to eliminate routine flaring, or burning of natural gas that is produced by new oil wells.

The states challenging the rule called the new standards “impossible to meet” and said they amounted to an “attack” on the industry.

The mercury rule, meanwhile, came after a reversal of a move by the Trump administration. It updated regulations that were more than a decade old for emissions of mercury and other harmful pollutants that can affect the nervous system, kidneys and fetal development.

Industry groups and conservative-leaning states argued emissions were already low enough, and the new standards could force the shuttering coal-fired power plants.

The EPA said the updates are needed to protect public health.

David Doniger, senior attorney at Natural Resources Defense Council, called the two rules critical safeguards and applauded the order leaving them in place. He also looked ahead to the still-undecided challenges to the power plant rule.

“The court should do the same with the effort to block EPA’s power plant carbon pollution standards, which comply with the very directions the court gave it in 2022,” Doniger said.

Associated Press writer Matthew Daly contributed to this report.

In Michigan, Harris works to solidify union support amid signs some of it could be slipping to Trump

2024-10-05 03:05 Last Updated At：03:10

REDFORD CHARTER TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris denounced Donald Trump as a “union buster" as she campaigned in the labor stronghold of Michigan on Friday, stepping up her political battle with the former president for the support of working-class voters who could tip the scales in this year's election.

Harris' remarks followed U.S. dockworkers suspending their strike in hopes of reaching a new contract, sparing the country a damaging episode of labor unrest that could have rattled the economy. A tentative agreement was reached to raise salaries, although other issues still needed to be resolved.

Visitng a firehouse in Redford Charter Township, outside Detroit, the vice president shouted out to “labor brothers and sisters” that the tentative dockworker agreement demonstrated the power of collective bargaining.

“We know, when union wages go up, all wages go up," Harris told a small firehouse crowd featuring representatives from different unions. ”And the bottom line is, when unions are strong America is strong."

She also directly went after her opponent, saying Trump “has been a union-buster his entire career" who would launch a “full on attack” against organized labor.

Trump is “making the same empty promises to the people of Michigan that he did before," Harris said, "Hoping you will forget how he let you down.”

Harris was set to speak later in Flint and her campaign said she'd use those remarks to criticize Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, on auto jobs. She planned to point directly to Vance, who while campaigning in Michigan on Wednesday refused to commit to continue federal support going to the GM plant in Lansing.

Unions have long been a bedrock of support for Democrats, but Harris has failed to secure some key endorsements. The International Association of Fire Fighters announced this week that it wouldn't back a candidate this year, following a similar announcement from the Teamsters. Both unions endorsed Joe Biden four years ago.

Still, Harris was introduced and endorsed at the firehouse by Matthew Sahr, president of Michigan firefighters. Similarly, some Teamsters groups have publicly backed the vice president even as their national union has opted not to make formal endorsements.

There were nonetheless warning signs for Harris.

Justin Pomerville, the business manager at UA Local 85 in Michigan, said 70% of his members’ work hours are tied to the CHIPS and Science Act, which the Biden administration championed and pumped billions of dollars into semiconductor manufacturing.

The workers lay complex networks of pipes that carry exhaust, water and chemicals through high-tech facilities. However, Pomerville said that some members aren’t aware of the connection between their jobs and the legislation.

“Unless someone tells them they’re working because of that, they don’t know,” he said.

It's not a total cold union shoulder for Harris. She won quick endorsements from national teachers unions, the building trades, the AFL-CIO and the United Auto Workers after replacing Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket.

But the divide within the labor community is a reminder of shifting loyalties in American politics. Democrats have increased their support among white-collar professionals while Republicans try to make inroads among voters who didn’t attend college.

During a rally in Saginaw, Michigan on Thursday, Trump claimed that Republicans are now “the party of the American worker,” glossing over his anti-union record as president. In a reference to labor unrest at the country’s ports, he insisted that “under my leadership Americans won’t have to go on strike for a better wage or a better life.”

The former president also made a trip to Flint last month in an event billed as focusing on the auto industry, a pillar of the battleground state. The two candidates have been in the same cities — and in some cases the exact same venues — within days or weeks of each other.

Pomerville, who is also president of the Tri-County Building and Construction Trades Council, said “We’re voting our pocketbooks" and “It’s got to be our job to get that message out.”

But he warned that “Trump has done an amazing job at marketing false facts” and his message is resonating with some of the union members.

”It’s particularly potent with men who appreciate his anti-establishment message and are exhausted by politics in general," said Pomerville who added that when people try to talk about the election with them, “you can watch some of their walls go up.”

Trump was spending Friday in Georgia with Gov. Brian Kemp, the latest sign that he's patched up his rocky relationship with the top Republican in a key battleground state. Later in the day, he’s holding a campaign event in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Union voters have traditionally leaned toward Democrats, with 56% supporting Biden in 2020. But Trump has pushed hard to win over blue-collar workers traditionally represented by some of the biggest unions. He won 62% of white voters without college degrees — though only 24% of non-white voters without college degrees — in 2020.

It’s frustrating for Democrats, who point to the country's strong labor market — 254,000 jobs were added in September, more than expected — and the White House’s firm support for unions. Biden even joined a UAW picket line last year.

Labor relations could have been a dominant issue in the closing weeks of the presidential campaign if the dockworkers strike continued, leading to snarled ports and shortages on store shelves.

AP Writer Will Weissert contributed from Washington.