Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency
Issues
Where the EPA Administrator is required by the Clean Air Act to set auto emission standards for pollutants that may endanger public health, may the Administrator decline to do so for policy reasons not specifically found in the Clean Air Act and does the EPA Administrator actually have authority to regulate certain air pollutants associated with climate change under the Clean Air Act?
In October 1999, several environmental groups petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (the “EPA”) to use its power to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from new motor vehicles. According to these groups, greenhouse gases should be classified as “air pollutants,” which can be regulated under the Clean Air Act if they “can be reasonably anticipated to endanger public health or welfare.” Among the possible “dangers” to welfare, the Clean Air Act lists effects on “weather” and “climate.” However, almost four years later, the EPA officially denied the petition, saying that the Clean Air Act did not give the EPA the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and, even if it did, the EPA would deny the exercise of such authority. According to the EPA, the causal link between greenhouse gases and global warming has not been proven conclusively. Clearly, the Court’s decision in this case will have a significant effect on federal, state, and local efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, the Court’s decision could determine the amount of deference that a federal agency should receive in its determinations and could lend credibility to particular side of the scientific argument concerning the tie of greenhouse gases to global warming.
Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties
1. Whether the EPA Administrator may decline to issue emission standards for motor vehicles based on policy considerations not enumerated in section 202(a)(1) [of the Clean Air Act].
2. Whether the EPA Administrator has authority to regulate carbon dioxide and other air pollutants associated with climate change under section 202(a)(1).
In October of 1999, the International Center for Technology Assessment (the “CTA”) petitioned the EPA to regulate carbon dioxide and three other greenhouse gasses released by motor vehicles as per § 202(a) of the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C.§ 7521(a)(1).
Additional Resources
Law about... Environmental law