Once again, the courts have decided that a Bush administration decision that weakens environmental protections needs to be overturned. The New York Times reports that a federal court has ruled the following to be in violation of the Clean Air Act:

The rule had allowed power plants and factories to avoid installing the most recent controls for smog-forming chemicals like oxides of nitrogen. Instead, excessive pollution from one factory was permissible if the factory participated in a regional cap-and-trade program and bought pollution credits to cover their excess emissions.

The article states that over a dozen Bush-era rules regarding air pollution have been struck down in appeals courts, which really says something about the agenda that was set from 2001-2009. It’s amazing to think that not only are these rules detrimental to the environment, but apparently downright illegal. I feel like I’ve written, now, at least half a dozen of these posts talking about a rule from the Bush administration being shot down by appellate courts. It’s unfortunate that all this back-pedaling has to happen, but it’s nice to see that things are being rectified. Hopefully I won’t have to write too many more of these, “Hey, we’ve undone something bad” posts.