SuperCitizen

Recent Supreme Court decisions have significantly constrained EPA authority:

West Virginia v. EPA (2022): Used "major questions doctrine" to strike down power-sector emissions regulation.
Sackett v. EPA (2023): Narrowed Clean Water Act jurisdiction over wetlands.
Loper Bright v. Raimondo (2024): Overturned Chevron deference, requiring courts to independently interpret ambiguous statutes.

Pending fights include power-sector greenhouse-gas standards, vehicle emissions standards, methane rules, PFAS regulation, and Endangered Species Act listings.

Defenders argue EPA needs broad authority to address evolving environmental threats Congress wrote statutes to address. Critics argue agency rule-making has expanded beyond statutory authorization, requiring judicial correction.

Spectrum of framings

How adherents on each side of the conventional left / center / right spectrum frame this issue — written so each camp would recognize the framing as charitable.

left

Progressives generally favor robust EPA authority and oppose major-questions / Chevron-overturning decisions.

center

Many centrists favor strong environmental protection within clearer statutory limits.

right

Most conservatives favor judicial limits on EPA authority and clearer congressional authorization for major regulations.

Perspectives

Each perspective is presented in terms its advocates would recognize, with the concerns they treat as paramount. None is endorsed.

Robust-EPA-authority advocates

Congress wrote broad environmental statutes intending broad enforcement. The major-questions and post-Chevron framework hamstring EPA from addressing evolving threats Congress wanted addressed.

Statutory authority and intent
Addressing climate, PFAS, novel pollutants
Congressional gridlock on environmental statutes

Limited-authority advocates

Major regulatory decisions should require clear congressional authorization. EPA's recent rule-makings — especially on climate — exceed what Congress authorized in mid-20th-century statutes.

Congressional authorization
Separation of powers
Predictable regulatory environment