In support of Ohio v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Eagle Forum and twenty-three organizations filed an amicus brief. The EPA implemented a so-called “good neighbor” rule after failing 23 states for inadequate air quality standards. Many of these states challenged the EPA’s rejection but also sought a pause to the rule during litigation. When the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected this injunction, Ohio, Indiana, and West Virginia alongside several energy companies took the matter to the Supreme Court.
Ohio Solicitor General Mathura Sridharan argued that the EPA’s plan was essentially a patchwork of policies at this time due to the lack of participation by the states. There is no use in moving forward on a policy that has yet to be fully litigated. The majority of Justices seemed to agree. On June 27, 2024, the Supreme Court upheld the lower court’s ruling to block the EPA’s rule by a 5-4 decision.
Eagle Forum applauds the Court’s decision and is hopeful for more wins in each of the states’ challenges to the EPA rule. Suppressing a state’s ability to manufacture goods or produce essential utilities simply because they are “upwind” is unfair and an unconstitutional overreach of the federal government.