June 27, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SUWA Statement on SCOTUS Halting Implementation of the Good Neighbor Plan -6.27.24

Contacts:
Hanna Larsen, Staff Attorney, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (801) 428-3992; hanna@suwa.org
Grant Stevens, Communications Director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (319) 427-0260; grant@suwa.org

Salt Lake City, UT –  This morning, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 5-4 opinion halting implementation of the Good Neighbor Plan, an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule under the federal Clean Air Act. On Feb 21, 2024, the Court heard arguments regarding the Rule, which would have saved thousands of lives by requiring upwind states to limit pollution that travels across state lines, harming people and the environment downwind. SUWA—alongside fellow Utah nonprofit Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment— intervened to defend the Good Neighbor Plan and are represented by Earthjustice. Below is a quote from SUWA Staff Attorney Hanna Larsen.

“We’re disappointed that the U.S. Supreme Court took the extraordinary step to block the EPA’s Good Neighbor Plan from going into effect – which would have reduced smog and ozone pollution – before the lower court even had a chance to evaluate the strength of conservative states’ and industry groups’ arguments. The impacts of this preemptive decision will be felt in Utah and across the nation by increasing pollution, harming ecosystems, and threatening public health.” — Hanna Larsen, Staff Attorney at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) 

Additional information: 

The Good Neighbor Plan would have required power plants and other high-polluting industries to reduce emissions that create ground-level ozone. Ground-level ozone, commonly known as smog, is linked to asthma, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, and premature death. EPA estimates the Plan, if fully implemented, would have prevented more than one million asthma attacks and at least a thousand premature deaths a year, while also improving the health of forests and waterbodies around the country. 

Feb. 21 Press Release from Earthjustice 

Related Court Documents and News from Earthjustice 

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The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) is a nonprofit organization with members and supporters from around the country dedicated to protecting America’s redrock wilderness. From offices in Moab, Salt Lake City, and Washington, DC, our team of professionals defends the redrock, organizes support for America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act, and stewards this world-renowned landscape. Learn more at www.suwa.org.