They say fences make good neighbors, but Utah doesn’t have a fence to stop pollution from drifting to Colorado and elsewhere.
Additionally, unlike a careless burglar breaking into your home — ozone pollution doesn’t leave DNA to identify a specific culprit.
These realities compound the struggles states face when it comes to controlling what happens within their borders as far as emissions go and where those emissions might drift.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, nevertheless, set up guardrails via the “good neighbor” rule to keep the unwelcome guest at bay, a move that Utah and 10 other Republican-leaning states sued over.
Utah, in fact, appropriated $2 million in 2023 to pay for its lawsuit, which it filed in June that year. Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the federal agency to stop implementation of the good neighbor rule.
“The EPA’s proposed Ozone Transport Rule is yet another example of federal overreach. This is one that would have dire consequences for energy security and reliability in Utah. Two years ago Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, Idaho Gov. Brad Little and I told the EPA why the rule was deeply flawed and bad policy,” said Utah Gov. Spencer Cox. “The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed and stopped the rule in Utah last summer, and I am thrilled to see the U.S. Supreme Court halt the implementation of the rule for other states impacted.”