Energy Today - The SCOTUS Docket complimentary issue

Published: Mon, 03/04/24

Members: The week of March 4, 2024

The SCOTUS Docket, 2024

Key legal fights in 2024 could shake up how the federal government (or state governments, depending on the outcome of the cases) responds to a changing climate. The lead article in this issue of Energy Today focuses on Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo. The justices will soon decide whether to scrap or limit a long-standing legal principle — known as the Chevron Deference — that instructs the judicial court system should defer to expert interpretations by federal agencies about ambiguous regulatory policy passed by Congress. Two other articles in this issue focus on cases destined for the highest court that could also reshape environmental regulations, from planet-warming emissions to water pollution. The fourth article examines a crucial case that SCOTUS rejected and will not hear: Alaska asked the courts to overturn a Biden administration decision that bars development of the controversial Pebble mine project.

Together, all four cases reviewed in this issue of Energy Today illustrate the inherent tension between individual liberty and regulatory authority.

Chevron Deference

On January 17, 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral argument in two cases — Relentless v. Dep’t of Commerce, and Loper Bright Enters. v. Raimondo — that could have far-reaching effects on administrative law and the authority of federal agencies. At the core of both cases is the Chevron Deference (from the 1984 SCOTUS case, Chevron v. NRDC), which establishes that judicial courts are supposed to defer to the experts at federal agencies if the experts provide a reasonable interpretation of an ambiguous law.

Over the last four decades, Chevron Deference has faced criticism from those who argue that it is the role of courts, not federal agencies, to say what the law means. Each side warns of devastating consequences should it lose, underscoring how the court’s decision in a highly technical case will reverberate across wide swaths of American life, especially but not limited to energy and the environment.

The SCOTUS on the WOTUS

Last year, the SCOTUS scaled back the definition of "wetlands" in Sackett v. EPA. Because of that ruling, each state rather than the federal government (through the EPA) must now establish its own regulatory policies to ensure that their waters are not polluted, drained, or filled. The issue becomes even more complex when two or more states claim access to a single wetland. Without the US EPA to help regulate the waters of the US ("WOTUS"), state regulators are asking the federal government for funding to hire staff that can process permits and monitor water quality; meanwhile, the rollback is providing new opportunities for developers and industries to expand.

Either way, the states are finding that a lot has changed in the aftermath of last year's SCOTUS ruling on the WOTUS.

Scale Up or Scale Back
A disagreement about regulating natural gas

Any disagreement involving the Chevron deference and the administrative state inevitably involves the federal approval process for new gas projects. Conservation groups are pushing the FERC to prioritize states' climate targets over contractual natural gas offtake agreements between suppliers and consumers, while conservative groups believe that laws that protect commerce are a higher priority. SCOTUS is considering quite a few lawsuits that target FERC approval of gas development projects in New Jersey, Virginia, and the most contentious of all, an expansive project in the Pacific Northwest.

Alaska v. United States
A case SCOTUS won't hear this year

On January 8, 2024, the SCOTUS rejected the state of Alaska’s request to overturn a Biden administration decision that stopped development of the controversial Pebble mine project. Alaska officials argued that EPA’s determination, issued under a rarely used Clean Water Act authority, ignores state sovereignty and its ability to regulate its own lands and waters.

But the SCOTUS told Alaska to file the complaint elsewhere.

In case you missed it...

The energy news you needed to know last week,

series 10; volume 4: week of February 19, 2024

About Energy Today: Energy Today, the official e-magazine of the American Energy Society, is an independent (classical liberalism) trade e-magazine about issues related to energy and the environment.

Scope & Aims: Energy Today is the foremost interdisciplinary forum for the publication of forward thinking and bold ideas about energy. Underpinning this objective is a commitment to independence and integrity, the delivery of high quality content and services, and a writing style that conveys significance in an engaging way.

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