Series of US Supreme Court rulings strike environmental laws

A series of U.S. Supreme Court decisions over the past two years have significantly weakened the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to curb air and water pollution, regulate the use of toxic chemicals and limit emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases.

The Environmental Protection Agency has come under fire in a series of cases filed since 2022 by conservative activists who say EPA rules have raised costs for industries from utilities to housing, arguments that have resonated with judges skeptical of government regulation.

On Friday, the court ended the application of the so-called Chevron doctrine, a cornerstone of administrative law for 40 years that held that courts should defer to government agencies to interpret ambiguous regulations. The decision threatens the authority of many federal agencies to regulate the environment, as well as health care, workplace safety, telecommunications, the financial sector and more.

More unusual, however, have been several court decisions to intervene to stay environmental regulations before they were issued by lower courts or even implemented by the executive branch.

On Thursday, the court said the EPA could not limit pollution from smokestacks blowing across state borders under a measure known as the “good neighbor rule.” In this case, the court took the surprising step of making its decision while the case was pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

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The court also took unusually preliminary action last year, striking down a draft Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulation known as Waters of the United States that was intended to protect millions of acres of wetlands from pollution before the regulation finally took effect.

Similarly, in a 2022 complaint over the EPA’s climate proposal, known as the Clean Power Plan, the court limited the agency’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, even though the rule had not yet taken effect.

Experts say that collectively, these decisions not only threaten many existing environmental laws, but could also prevent future administrations from developing new ones.

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“This court has shown an interest in legislating in this area and has not had the patience to wait for cases to go through the courts first,” said Kevin Minoli, a lawyer who worked in the EPA’s office of general counsel from the Clinton administration to the Trump administration. “It’s like we told you the answer before you even asked the question.”