Recent Ruling From U.S. Supreme Court Draws Fears Among State Environmental Advocates

Friday, July 5th, 2024 -- 8:01 AM

(Danielle Kaeding, Wisconsin Public Radio) A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling limits the authority of federal agencies to issue regulations, drawing praise from Wisconsin’s largest business group and fears among state environmental advocates.

According to Danielle Kaeding with Wisconsin Public Radio, last week, the court’s conservative majority overturned a 40-year-old legal doctrine known as the “Chevron deference,” which stems from a 1984 ruling involving the energy firm.

The 6-3 decision ended a legal precedent that allowed courts to defer to an agency’s reasonable reading of the law where it’s unclear. The ruling shifts power from regulatory agencies to the courts and Congress. Clean Wisconsin issued a statement on Friday, calling the decision “a disaster for the environment.”

Evan Feinauer, the group’s staff attorney, told WPR the ruling makes it easier to toss out recent environmental regulations developed by the Biden administration to reduce pollution, replace lead pipes and set limits on PFAS in drinking water.

“If you care about having water that doesn’t have lead in it, if you care about having water that doesn’t have PFAS in it, if you care about doing something about climate change, if you care about having vehicles that don’t spew pollution, if you care about not breathing ozone (pollution) every day, this should concern you and scare you greatly,” Feinauer said.

The decision has far-reaching effects on regulations beyond the environment. It would also affect safeguards for public health, workers, food safety and other issues. Supporters say Chevron relied on the idea that agency experts were better able to interpret the law than unelected judges.

But conservatives and business groups argued Chevron expanded the power of what they refer to as the “administrative state.”

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