Supreme Court climate ruling could impact nuclear waste case

After the June 27, 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in favor of a high school football coach’s right to pray on the field after games, there were predictions of sweeping consequences from across the ideological spectrum. But three months after the decision, there’s no sign that large numbers of coaches are following Kennedy’s high-profile example. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

The Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on climate change could have implications for a range of other issues, including a case involving nuclear waste storage and a proposal requiring companies to disclose how climate risk affects their businesses, advocates across the political spectrum say.

Two Republican attorneys general — including the West Virginia official who successfully challenged Environmental Protection Agency rules restricting greenhouse gas emissions by power plants — say the Supreme Court ruling applies more broadly to other executive branch actions. And in at least one case, environmental groups appear to agree.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says the court’s June 30 ruling, which limited how the nation’s main anti-air pollution law can be used to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, can be used to block a federal license issued to a private facility to store radioactive waste in his state.