West Virginia v EPA: Read It For Yourself

In a ruling that will have wide-ranging effects on the government’s ability to regulate climate standards through administration policy without congressional authorization, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the emissions reductions imposed by the EPA in the Clean Power Plan exceeded their authority.

ABC News:

The Supreme Court on Thursday limited the Environmental Protection Agency’s power to fight climate change.

The case involved how far the federal government could go in regulating greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.

The court held that Congress did not grant EPA the authority under the Clean Air Act to devise emissions caps based on the “generation shifting approach” the agency took in the Clean Power Plan, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing for the 6-3 conservative majority.

Roberts wrote that the only question before the court was “whether the ‘best system of emission reduction’ identified by EPA in the Clean Power Plan was within the authority granted to the Agency in Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act. For thereasons given, the answer is no.”

He wrote, “… our precedent counsels skepticism toward EPA’s claim … To overcome that skepticism, the Government must — under the major questions doctrine — point to “clear congressional authorization” to regulate in that manner.

“…Capping carbon dioxide emissions at a level that will force a nationwide transition away from the use of coal to generate electricity may be a sensible ‘solution to the crisis of the day.’ But it is not plausible that Congress gave EPA the authority to adopt on its own such a regulatory scheme in Section 111(d) [of the Clean Air Act],” Roberts wrote. “A decision of such magnitude and consequence rests with Congress itself, or an agency acting pursuant to a clear delegation from that representative body.”

The three liberal justices dissented, with Justice Elena Kagan writing, “Today, the Court strips the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the power Congress gave it to respond to “the most pressing environmental challenge of our time.”

Read the Supreme Court’s opinion on West Virginia v EPA for yourself here:
West Virginia v EPS