Supreme Court Finds USEPA Lacks The Authority To Regulate Certain Emissions

Seyfarth Synopsis: The environment was yet another topic addressed by the United States Supreme Court in a ruling where it dealt a heavy blow to the EPA's efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions. In West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency, America's highest court ruled 6-3 that the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) overstepped its authority when enacting the Obama-era 2015 Clean Power Plan, and limited the Agency's ability to address "major questions," such as curbing greenhouse gas emissions "beyond the fence line," without explicit authority from Congress.

In one of its final opinions this term, the Supreme Court reversed the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals' decision invalidating the Trump-era 2019 Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule, which implicitly reinstated the Obama-era 2015 Clean Power Plan (CPP). The Supreme Court ruled that USEPA overstepped its Congressionally-granted authority when it enacted the CPP and attempted to regulate