Washington, DC – On news this morning that the U.S. Supreme Court issued its rulings in the greenhouse gas cases – under lead caption Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA – Constitutional Accountability Center released the following reaction:

“Today,” said CAC President Doug Kendall, “a 7-2 majority of the Court ruled that EPA had the authority to regulate greenhouse gases from stationary sources already subject to the Clean Air Act’s permitting requirements. While the Court rejected an alternative reading of the statute proposed by EPA, the Justices blessed a solution that permits regulation of the vast majority of greenhouse gas emissions.”

“While CAC agrees with Justice Breyer,” said CAC Chief Counsel Elizabeth Wydra, “who argued the viability of EPA’s position that greenhouse gases are air pollutants with respect to Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) and Title V permitting provisions, the 7-2 majority allows for regulation of all but 3% of the greenhouse gas emissions proposed for regulation by the EPA.”

“Challengers to EPA’s action,” CAC’s Kendall continued, “wanted the Court to review far more than it did in this case, and they wanted a more sweeping ruling preventing EPA regulation here. They got neither, and EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act remains on extremely strong footing.”

#

Resources:

“Six Reasons Why the Greenhouse Gas Cases Are Worth Watching,” Tom Donnelly, February 18, 2014: http://theusconstitution.org/text-history/2478/six-reasons-why-greenhouse-gas-cases-are-worth-watching

CAC’s “friend of the court” brief in Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA: http://theusconstitution.org/sites/default/files/briefs/CAC_Merits_Brief-Utility_Air_Regulatory_Group_v_EPA.pdf

##

Constitutional Accountability Center (www.theusconstitution.org) is a think tank, public interest law firm, and action center dedicated to fulfilling the progressive promise of the Constitution’s text and history.

###