Heinrich Statement On Supreme Court EPA Ruling

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the C0-Founder and Co-Chair of the Electrification Caucus, released the following statement after the Supreme Court issued its ruling in the West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) case, which narrows the EPA’s authority to address climate pollution:

“The radical-conservative and wildly out-of-touch majority on the Supreme Court just undermined the federal government’s ability to use the Clean Air Act to protect our clean air and clean water from harmful climate warming pollution. This outrageous ruling will limit the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to follow the science and issue rules designed to protect our planet and our health from the harmful emissions that are burning into the atmosphere.

“The science is indisputable that these hydrocarbons are fueling more destructive wildfires, reducing our snowpack, and contributing to the worst drought that New Mexico has experienced in 1,200 years. If we fail to curb this pollution, we risk significantly greater damage to our landscapes, watersheds, and health. The Supreme Court just took away one of our most important tools to address this existential threat to our planet.

“Although this disgraceful ruling represents a major step backwards, it only further reinforces the urgency with which the Senate must  pass major climate and clean energy investments in this Congress. This moment also demands more collaboration and more bold and decisive climate actions from our leaders in state, local, and Tribal governments and in the private sector.

“We all have a role to play in addressing this greatest problem of our generation with solutions that will make a real difference.”

Background:

• Heinrich has spent decades working to build a clean energy economy. He is fighting for investments to help communities confront the climate crisis head on, move the clean energy transition forward, and power New Mexico’s economy.
• In January, Heinrich joined more than 190 congressional Democrats in submitting an amicus brief to the Supreme Court that supported EPA’s broad authority under the Clean Air Act to protect the public from harmful pollution, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and address the climate crisis.
• Heinrich championed into law a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which nullifies the Trump administration’s 2020 Methane Rescission Rule and reinstates U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards for methane emissions from the oil and gas industry and the regulation of air pollution from transmission and storage facilities.