The US Supreme Court declined on Friday to block environmental regulations aimed at reducing harmful emissions of mercury from power plants and methane from oil and gas facilities.

Republican-led states and industry groups argued that the Environmental Protection Agency had moved too fast and imposed onerous regulations.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday left in place Biden administration regulations aimed at curbing oil and gas facility emissions of methane, a major contributor to climate change. In a separate action, the court also rejected a bid to block a regulation aimed at curbing emissions of mercury and other toxic pollutants from coal-fired power plants. In both cases, the court rejected emergency applications without comment, with no noted dissents. Litigation against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will continue in lower courts. A separate emergency application seeking to block Biden regulations concerning carbon emissions from coal- and gas-fired power plants remains pending. "The Supreme Court has sensibly rejected two efforts by industry to halt critical safeguards," said David Doniger, a lawyer at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group. "The court should do the same with the effort to block EPA’s power plant carbon pollution standards.” EPA spokesman Remmington Belford welcomed…

Oct. 4 (UPI) -- The Supreme Court on Friday refused to issue a temporary halt to the implementation of new Biden administration rules limiting the release of methane from oil and gas production sites.