Interesting. I have to wonder if there was any "trade off" going on in the decisions last week. This is a huge issue as it relates to energy in America.

 

 

 

Supreme Court rules against EPA on power plant regs

 

In a major win for the energy industry, the Supreme Court ruled Monday against the Environmental Protection Agency's effort to limit power plant emissions -- saying the agency "unreasonably" failed to consider the cost of the regulations.

 

The rules curbing emissions of mercury and other hazardous air pollutants began to take effect in April. But the court said by a 5-4 vote Monday that the EPA failed to take their cost into account when the agency first decided to regulate the toxic emissions from coal- and oil-fired plants.

 

The challenge was brought by industry groups and 21 Republican-led states.

 

Writing for the court, Justice Antonin Scalia said it is not appropriate to impose billions of dollars of economic costs in return for a few dollars in health or environmental benefits.

 

"EPA must consider cost-including cost of compliance-before deciding whether regulation is appropriate and necessary," the court said.

 

The case now goes back to lower courts for the EPA to decide how to account for costs.

 

The decision is a blow to the Obama administration, just days after the court delivered President Obama a major win by upholding his signature health care overhaul. The White House also celebrated Friday's historic ruling legalizing gay marriage nationwide.

The Supreme Court has been busy recently.

I can definitely see a trade-off scenario here.

Kennedy is pretty much the trade off guy. The other 8 voted pretty much how we would expect them too in the recent decisions.

Maybe this will keep the Government from "Bankrupting" certain areas of the US Power Grid as had been promised.

I'm not really certain what this issue is about, but I'm fine with "trade-offs" compared to utter gridlock that we normally see. I wish we'd see more "trade-offs" in the actual Congress.

Some anecdotal input: had the Supreme Court not ruled this way we essentially would have shut down every coal burning power plant in the United States within the next 5 - 10 years. It would have been absolutely cost prohibitive to try to keep up with the emissions standards.

 

That being said, it would have driven us to look to natgas for our primary generation fuel, which is cool because fracking was keeping our fuel sourcing domestic and there seemed to be plenty of it...

 

The problem is that fracking is under attack as well.

 

We can only hope that this will extend the US Power Grid view to the 30,000 foot level and allow us to continue to find ways to burn the most economically efficient fuel source out there...coal.

 

This may have been the single biggest rendering the Supreme Court has completed in the past week.

The EPA has become a nightmare. They are making rule/law. That is Congresses' job, not theirs, yet they have been allowed to grow and do as they please. They need to be neutered, and fast.

Some anecdotal input: had the Supreme Court not ruled this way we essentially would have shut down every coal burning power plant in the United States within the next 5 - 10 years. It would have been absolutely cost prohibitive to try to keep up with the emissions standards.

 

That being said, it would have driven us to look to natgas for our primary generation fuel, which is cool because fracking was keeping our fuel sourcing domestic and there seemed to be plenty of it...

 

The problem is that fracking is under attack as well.

 

We can only hope that this will extend the US Power Grid view to the 30,000 foot level and allow us to continue to find ways to burn the most economically efficient fuel source out there...coal.

 

This may have been the single biggest rendering the Supreme Court has completed in the past week.

 

So this ruling saved the coal industry?

The EPA has become a nightmare. They are making rule/law. That is Congresses' job, not theirs, yet they have been allowed to grow and do as they please. They need to be neutered, and fast.

 

Many don't understand the power EPA possesses. They can impose their will in a strong manner, hampering communities and stunting growth. Not that what they are seeking to accomplish is a bad thing, but in today's climate, processes and materials are rendered obsolete almost immediately putting folks back under the microscope of their authority.

Go nuclear.

Many don't understand the power EPA possesses. They can impose their will in a strong manner, hampering communities and stunting growth. Not that what they are seeking to accomplish is a bad thing, but in today's climate, processes and materials are rendered obsolete almost immediately putting folks back under the microscope of their authority.

 

Not just companies, individuals. EPA has fined people for building houses on land they deem to be protected.

So this ruling saved the coal industry?

 

I think that might be a stretch, but it certainly took them off death row. The standards were so stringent that business decisions were being considered that would likely have had dramatic effects.

 

The ruling was so difficult in terms of process changes and timing that it the ability of these companies to commit the cash for the upgrades was going to really be tough. I suspect that was probably intended from the beginning.

 

In the past, utilities that were regulated could just pass on these types of changes to the customers, with deregulation, it comes directly out of the utilities pocket immediately.

So this ruling saved the coal industry?

 

I think that might be a stretch, but it certainly took them off death row. The standards were so stringent that business decisions were being considered that would likely have had dramatic effects.

 

The ruling was so difficult in terms of process changes and timing that the ability of these companies to commit the cash for the upgrades was going to really be tough. I suspect that was probably intended from the beginning.

 

In the past, utilities that were regulated could just pass on these types of changes to the customers, with deregulation, it comes directly out of the utilities pocket immediately.

Go nuclear.

 

You'll get kicked out of the Democratic Party talking like that :lol2: