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<\/div>\nA U.S. federal appeals court on Friday rejected the Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s bid to withdraw Biden-era limits on soot pollution from coal-fired power plants and factories, in a setback for the Trump administration\u2019s deregulatory efforts.<\/p>\n
The<\/span> EPA under President Donald Trump last year asked the appeals court to invalidate the 2024 rule, arguing the agency had acted unreasonably by failing to consider costs while setting the standard.<\/p>\n The court rejected the petition, leaving the annual limit of 9 micrograms per cubic meter of fine particulate matter, known as PM 2.5, in place.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter initially defending the new rule, the EPA now moves to vacate the rule on the grounds that it exceeded its statutory authority and acted unreasonably by failing to consider costs. Because these arguments lack merit, we deny the petitions for review and the motion for vacatur,\u201d the ruling said.<\/p>\n The EPA under Biden had said the tighter limits would avoid more than 800,000 cases of asthma symptoms, 2,000 hospital visits and 4,500 premature deaths.<\/p>\n But the Trump EPA has said that the 2024 rule costs \u201chundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars to American citizens if allowed to be implemented\u201d and was not based on a full review of available science. It said on Friday it was reviewing the decision.<\/span><\/p>\n Environmental groups had called the Trump attempt to roll back the rule a blatant retreat from important public-health protections.<\/p>\n The Natural Resources Defense Council praised the court decision.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhile the Trump EPA dragged its heels, millions of Americans kept breathing unhealthy levels of soot \u2014 pollution the science shows has no safe level,\u201d the environmental group said. \u201cThis decision removes any remaining doubt: the science has long been clear, and now the law is too.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Topics<\/span> Legislation<\/a> Pollution<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Was this article valuable?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n