Supreme Court ruling destroys environmental protection and regulations

The court rejected a 40-year-old precedent known as the Chevron exemption rule. July 5, 2024

The Supreme Court ruled to overturn decades-old precedent that allowed the executive branch and government agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency to interpret regulations and set standards.

The Supreme Court voted 6-3 on ideological grounds to strike down the 1984 Chevron rule, which required lower courts to defer to executive branch agencies when laws passed by Congress were subject to interpretation.

While it may take some time to fully understand the implications of this ruling, Axios says it’s likely that challenges to regulations set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to limit greenhouse gas emissions will become more frequent and effective.

According to the AP, a lawyer who argued for the original Chevron ruling said the latest ruling would “empower judges to be radical activists” who could “effectively rewrite our laws and block the protections they are intended to provide.”

Greg Zimmerman is a senior contributing editor to FacilitiesNet.com and Building Operating Management magazine.

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