Asbestos News | Supreme Court Good Neighbor Rule
Earlier this year, the topic of asbestos exposure reached the highest court in the United States. While the topic of asbestos is only one of several factors included in the court case, it carries important considerations for anyone interested in following the ongoing trend of asbestos risk assessment in the last half-century of asbestos-related regulations across America. Here’s what you should know about these latest developments.
The Good Neighbor Requirements
Back in March of 2023 the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) put forth its final plan in the Clean Air Act, which has been popularly known as the “Good Neighbor” requirements. According to the EPA, this plan was put into place with bold claims:
“This action will save thousands of lives and result in cleaner air and better health for millions of people living in downwind communities.” –SCOTUS
The intention behind this regulation is to help maintain clean air by reducing pollution that contributes to ground-level ozone (smog). States that are currently implementing the Good Neighbor requirements for power plants include:
Illinois
Indiana
Maryland
Michigan
New Jersey
New York
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Virginia
Wisconsin
How the Good Neighbor plan works practically is by focusing on industrial facilities (including power plants) to enforce the output of smog-forming nitrogen oxide pollution. This type of pollution, according to the EPA, is responsible for various health issues, including respiratory diseases like asthma, lung disease, premature death, emergency room visits, and missed work/school. In particular view of the EPA is the protection of children and vulnerable adults with factors listed by the agency as “people of color, families with low-incomes, and other vulnerable populations”.
The anticipated impact of the Good Neighbor plan is highly specific, with a projected outcome in 2026 including:
preventing approximately 1,300 premature deaths,
avoiding more than 2,300 hospital and emergency room visits,
cutting asthma symptoms by 1.3 million cases,
avoiding 430,000 school absence days,
avoiding 25,000 lost work days.
Pushback and Litigation
While the EPA’s plan has high aspirations, not all is rosy in the so called Good Neighbor plan. Because of court order, the EPA plan is not being utilized in the following states:
Alabama
Arkansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Nevada
Oklahoma
Texas
Utah
West Virginia
There continues to be various moving parts in the “Good Neighbor” plan, and a large part of that includes the recent development of the Good Neighbor plan reaching the Supreme Court of the United States. The idea behind the Good Neighbor rule has to do with hazardous air pollution reaching “downwind” states, and the protocols being proposed by the EPA are intended to ensure that geographically suspect states are maintaining safety for geographically vulnerable states from downwind pollution.
Interstate Pollution? It’s Not a Road Issue
Interstate pollution is at the heart of the legal drama here, as Ohio, Indiana and West Virginia want to see the Supreme Court rule in their favor, resulting in a freeze of the Good Neighbor rule that would otherwise hold these states accountable for emissions from coal plants, smokestacks, cement kilns, natural gas pipelines, and other airborne pollution sources that cross state lines.
Some are questioning why the Supreme Court is involved in this issue in the first place, noting that there is no precedent for the Supreme Court to initiate a pause on something that is still in its beginning stages of litigation. That said, recent opinions on a variety of issues leave in doubt the Supreme Court’s reverence for long-standing precedent.
The beginning stages of litigation is reflected in the fact that almost half of the 23 states that are in view of the Good neighbor plan are already being “paused” due to various litigation issues ongoing in lower courts. The question for the Supreme Court is, shall the states comply with the EPA plan until the lower court cases are resolved or not?
Currently, the States must comply with the Good Neighbor in just under two years from now (May 1st 2026), and the Supreme Court is expected to give its ruling sometime this Summer.
Asbestos and Pollution
While asbestos is not the buzzword found in the Good Neighbor ruling, the history of asbestos contamination is closely associated with both the EPA as well as the various approaches to mitigating airborne pollution coming from industrial and manufacturing facilities.
The Spread of Asbestos Fibers
Asbestos was heavily used in the construction industry for decades, and the reason for this is because of this natural mineral’s durability. Asbestos is highly resistant to things that are threats to construction materials: fire, heat, water, corrosion, etc. With an impression resume of resistance, the durability of asbestos- not to mention it being a naturally-occurring mineral (cheap) was a high selling point that led to the widespread use of asbestos throughout the world.
The problem is, while asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) are not directly threatening to the human body so long as they are undisturbed and undamaged, they aren’t actually indestructible. Whenever ACMs are damaged from natural disasters, ACMs break down (become friable), releasing microscopic asbestos fibers into the air where they can be swallowed or inhaled into the human body- leading to cancer and other diseases over time.
Asbestos Danger from Fires, Storms and Decomposing Buildings
Fires are notorious for destroying buildings and causing environmental concerns due to black smoke and the assumption that all kinds of chemical compounds are being released into the atmosphere. This is true, but what if a burning building contains asbestos? The risk factor is a huge concern because airborne asbestos not only poses a threat to nearby residents, but it can be quickly spread numerous miles away if there are strong winds. What’s more, asbestos fibers can easily stick to clothing, meaning that anyone in the vicinity can transport asbestos fibers in their vehicle to entirely isolated places from the exposure source.
With these concerns in mind, it will be interesting to see how the Supreme Court handles this issues raised by states that are hesitant to adhere to the EPA regulations found in the Good Neighbor rule. Whether someone agrees with the politics of the EPA, the makeup of the Supreme Court, or the rationale behind the states in opposition to the EPA, it is important to note that what lies behind this issue- at least in part- is just how dangerous asbestos fibers can be when they are released in the atmosphere.