Supreme Court
Interpreting Michigan v. EPA
The opinion seems likely to have very limited repercussions.
In bringing the mercury rule to the Supreme Court, industry was hoping for a ruling that EPA had to balance costs and benefits (and could only include benefits relating to mercury). What they got was far less than that. Here, I’d like to address some key questions about the opinion. 1. When does EPA have …
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CONTINUE READINGMercury Rising: The Court Reverses EPA’s Regulation
This was not a great decision for EPA, but it could have been much worse.
The Court has just now decided the Michigan case, involving EPA’s mercury regulation. As Ann Carlson explained in an earlier post, a lot was at stake in the case. The Court ruled 5-4 against EPA. This passage seems to be key to the Court’s reasoning: One would not say that it is even rational, never mind …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Next Six Months
A half-dozen crucial developments will shape environmental policy for years to come.
The next six months will be unusually important in environmental law. There are six key areas to keep an eye on: 1. The Paris climate talks. The world’s governments meet every year in December as part of continuing negotiations on climate issues. This year’s meeting will be the most critical since Copenhagen, six years ago. The …
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CONTINUE READINGJeb, the Pope and Climate Change
Maybe we need to pay more attention to the link between religion and environmentalism.
Jeb Bush’s environmental views seem to be evolving. At a recent speech at Liberty University, he had this to say about environmental protection: “America’s environmental debates, likewise, can be too coldly economical, too sterile of life . . . Christians see in nature and all God’s creatures designs grander than any of man’s own devising, the …
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CONTINUE READINGHail to the Chief: John Roberts and the WOTUS Rule
Roberts virtually bemoaned the lack of a rulemaking. Now he’s got what he wanted.
The government issued a long-awaited Waters of the United States rule (WOTUS for short). No doubt there will be much gnashing of teeth about the issuance of the rule — a very safe bet since the gnashers of teeth got going long before the rule was actually issued. But one person who should be happy …
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CONTINUE READINGDistrust of Congress (And Why It Matters)
It’s easy to joke about Congress’s public ill-repute, but it’s a serious problem.
A recent poll shows that public approval of Congress is still in the basement (though perhaps not flat on the floor, as it was before). This graph shows the trends: But this poll on public “approval” doesn’t tell the whole story. Here’s one that asks instead whether Americans have confidence in key institutions: The configurations …
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CONTINUE READINGCulture Wars at the Supreme Court
A new book examines the roots of judicial conflict in environmental law.
Views on environmental issues are related to broader culture differences. According to social scientists, environmentalists tend to be egalitarian, believe in harmony with nature, and stress responsibility over autonomy. Their opponents, who are skeptical about regulation, tend to favor traditional hierarchies, believe in human mastery of nature, and stress autonomy over responsibility. Jon Cannon’s new book, Environment …
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CONTINUE READINGJustice Thomas Declares War on Rulemaking
His Amtrak dissent would wipe out most regulations of the last 40 years.
It didn’t get much attention, but Justice Thomas’s dissent two weeks ago in the Amtrak case was extraordinarily radical, even for him. The case involved a relatively obscure issue about the legal status of Amtrak. Justice Thomas used the occasion for a frontal attack on administrative law, including most of environmental law.. The heart of …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Death of Deference?
Yesterday, the Supreme Court granted cert. in several cases to hear the following question: “Whether the Environmental Protection Agency unreasonably refused to consider costs in determining whether it is appropriate to regulate hazardous air pollutants emitted by electric utilities.” The fundamental issue is whether it was unreasonable for EPA to interpret section 112 to preclude consideration …
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CONTINUE READINGUARG Strikes Back
Will UARG Persuade the Supreme Court to Overturn New Air Quality Standards?
“UARG” sounds like the name of a monster in a children’s book or maybe some kind of strangled exclamation. But it actually stands for Utility Air Regulatory Group, which represents utility companies in litigation. UARG did well in two important Supreme Court cases last year, winning part of the case it brought against EPA climate change …
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