US Supreme Court Rulings on EPA Good Neighbor Rule and Chevron Doctrine

The US Supreme Court has announced two decisions that may be of special interest for SWANA members.

Supreme Court Overrules Chevron Doctrine 

The Chevron Doctrine is a 1984 ruling in the case Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council which gave federal regulatory agencies, like the Environmental Protection Agency, the authority to interpret the details of laws passed by Congress that may have been vague. This case is widely cited in Supreme Court and lower court decisions. Under the Chevron Doctrine, courts would uphold the interpretation of the regulatory agency’s of the statute provided that it was considered reasonable. 

Now that the Supreme Court has overturned this doctrine, this will cut back the power of federal regulatory agencies and will give courts more power to interpret the details of laws.  

Supreme Court Decision to Temporarily Block EPA Good Neighbor Rule 

The US Supreme Court has temporarily blocked the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from enforcing the Good Neighbor Rule, which seeks to decrease air pollution that contributes to air quality standards in downwind states. The 2023 EPA rule under the Clean Air Act sets standards to address nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions that travel beyond state boundaries into neighboring states during the the summer ozone season. It also established a NOx trading program in certain states. This applies to emissions sources including Solid Waste Combustors or Incinerators, power plants, iron and steel mills, glass manufacturing, cement kilns, and pipeline transportation of natural gas. 

Several industry groups and three states challenged the rule, and the Supreme Court has now put a hold on the enforcement of the rule until a federal appeals court makes a final decision on the challenge to the rule.