Supreme Court To Determine If EPA Went Too Far

The Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether the EPA overstepped its authority in developing rules aimed at cutting emissions of six heat-trapping gases from factories and power plants. The question is whether the agency's authority to regulate automobile emissions also applies to power plants and factories.

The Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether the Environmental Protection Agency overstepped its authority in developing rules aimed at cutting emissions of six heat-trapping gases from factories and power plants. The justices said Tuesday they will review a unanimous federal appeals court ruling that upheld the government's unprecedented regulations aimed at reducing the gases blamed for global warming.

The question in the case is whether the EPA's authority to regulate automobile emissions of greenhouses gases as air pollutants, which stemmed from a 2007 Supreme Court ruling, also applies to power plants and factories. The case will be argued in early 2014.

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