Regan in May. Photo: Photo by Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
EPA Administrator Michael Regan believes his agency will be hit "extremely hard" by the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Chevron deference.
Why it matters: Regan's view from the top underscores just how damaging the decision in Loper Bright v. Raimondo could be for the Biden administration's marquee air and water regulations.
Driving the news: Regan told the House Oversight and Accountability Committee on Wednesday that the decision would undermine the ability of agency experts to interpret the law.
- "As you can imagine, we are deeply disappointed. This hits EPA extremely hard," he said.
Zoom in: The decision, which tossed out the idea that courts should defer to agency interpretation when the statute is vague, threatens a big slice of what EPA has done in the last four years.
- The agency already had its "Good Neighbor" rule stayed while legal challenges play out.
- Its power plant greenhouse gas and auto emissions rules are widely believed to be more vulnerable to legal challenges post-Chevron.
Yes, but: The Supreme Court hasn't used Chevron in quite some time, which makes some experts skeptical that Loper Bright will have massive impacts.
- The idea that "the sky is falling, I think, is overstated," said Jon Katchen, a partner at Holland & Hart. Even in lower courts that had been using Chevron, "there wasn't a consistent application of the doctrine."
- Plus, the Biden EPA has already been writing regs to stay within the bounds of the major questions doctrine.
- "I can absolutely say that EPA did not run afoul of the West Virginia Supreme Court issue," Regan said.
Meanwhile, Evergreen Action argues Chevron's demise could actually lead to stronger environmental rules.
- That's because longstanding rules, like auto emissions standards, use industry-friendly interpretations rooted in agency deference.
- "Decades upon decades of agency decisions to weaken or bend environmental laws to make them easier for industry stand open to challenge," the group wrote in a memo this week.
Our thought bubble: This decision suggests Congress ought to be more prescriptive in its dictations to EPA. But it's unlikely, given that lawmakers haven't significantly amended the Clean Air Act in three decades.
- In reality, legislative negotiations often necessitate vague language. And Congress lacks the resources that agencies have to go deep on complicated issues.
- "Frequently, the final text of legislation can be agreed upon only because it allows for some degree of later interpretation, and senators think their individual views will prevail in the regulatory process," said Alex Flint, a longtime GOP Senate aide who now runs the Alliance For Market Solutions.
