BOSTON - Ceres strongly denounces today’s U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn the 1984 decision in Chevron v. National Resources Defense Council. Known as the “Chevron Deference” ruling, the decision overturns a 40-year legal precedent that allowed experts at federal agencies to resolve ambiguities in laws passed by U.S. Congress. Today's decision to dismantle the longstanding “Chevron Deference” limits federal agencies' ability to interpret and enforce statutes they administer.
Ceres CEO and President Mindy Lubber said in a statement:
“This devastating decision will hamper federal efforts to strengthen the economy while protecting the environment, vulnerable communities, and public health. Businesses, investors, and individuals rely upon and support the certainty evidence-based and data-driven decisions from agencies provide to comply with complex laws. The data collected and analyzed by agency experts comes after extensive public stakeholder comment as part of the rulemaking process. The court system is simply not equipped to make these decisions. This is the key role of experts within government agencies, and they are best qualified to make decisions about complex technical and scientific matters that require specialized knowledge and expertise.
Today’s decision will lead to the challenge of more regulations in already overwhelmed lower courts, and inject more uncertainty as businesses make major long-term investment decisions that bring benefits to communities across the country. Federal agencies must have the authority to interpret ambiguous statutes and to take decisive and timely action, neither Congress nor the courts can act as quickly or thoroughly as these agencies.”
In April, Ceres published a report on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s track record on such decision-making, which confirmed the integrity of its analysis and market predictions in four separate regulatory Clean Air Act programs.
Today’s decision comes one day after another devastating ruling from the Supreme Court that blocked the EPA’s ‘Good Neighbor Plan.’ The plan aims to reduce emissions from power plants and other industrial sources contributing to air pollution in downwind states.
About Ceres
Ceres is a nonprofit advocacy organization working to accelerate the transition to a cleaner, more just, and sustainable world. United under a shared vision, our powerful networks of investors and companies are proving sustainability is the bottom line—changing markets and sectors from the inside out. For more information, visit ceres.org.