In a Twitter feed, Jonathan Wood of PERC untangles the confusion over the Supreme Court’s May 25 decision regarding the definition of the “waters of the United States” (WOTUS). The entire Supreme Court reined in the EPA. A majority (5) did so more boldly than the rest (4). From Wood’s Twitter thread: “So why was…
Tag: Supreme Court
Supreme Court Unanimously Reins in EPA’s Definition of ‘Waters of the United States’
The Biden administration had a major setback today as the Supreme Court unanimously rejected the EPA’s current definition of “waters of the United States.” The definition had been used to halt construction of a home on property deemed a wetland by the EPA. The case, Sackett vs. EPA, has been going on for 15 years….
What’s This Chevron Precedent and Why Does It Matter?
The Supreme Court has agreed to take up a case (Loper Bright Enterprises et. al vs. Raimondo) that will revisit a past Supreme Court decision known as the “Chevron precedent.” If the Court overturns or modifies that precedent, it would weaken agencies’ power to regulate. A group of New Jersey fishing companies has sued the…
Are Wetlands Navigable Water? The Conflict Continues
A Texas district court has rejected, for the time being, the EPA’s definition of the waters of the United States (“WOTUS”). The EPA’s latest definition went into force nationally on March 20 but the announcement explicitly excluded Texas and Idaho. Idaho was omitted because the Supreme Court is considering the case of Michael and Chantelle…
Why the Supreme Court Reined in the EPA
On June 30 the Supreme Court, by a 6-3 vote, decided that the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan, a major change in the way carbon dioxide from power plants would be regulated, had exceeded the agency’s authority. (The plan had not gone into effect, partly because of multiple legal challenges, which ended on Thursday.)…