The Supreme Court's pending decision on "Chevron deference" could force Congress to be more prescriptive and create sweeping new hurdles for environmental regulation and IRA implementation.

Why it matters: Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo has implications for climate regulations and all sorts of emerging problems not addressed directly in the nation's bedrock environmental laws.

• The case — which could yield an opinion as early as tomorrow — is about a fisheries rule but centers on Chevron, a precedent that defers to agency interpretation of the law when the underlying statute is vague or silent on an issue.

Nick asked the Senate's resident lawyers and wonks how the case will affect Congress.

Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin predicted limitations on Chevron would mean Congress would "have to be more careful in the future."

• He quipped, "We do so little substantive legislation now."

Josh Hawley said he hopes the case forces Congress "to be more specific" in its directions to agencies.

• "It'll probably take a little while, but after a couple of these times where Congress gets burned because the court interprets it differently … I think you'll see Congress start saying, 'Oh, well, wait a minute.'"
• At the same time, Hawley is "skeptical" the court will overturn Chevron: "I wouldn't be surprised if they leave it in place nominally."

Catherine Cortez Masto said the case could make everything more complex because Congress' lack of specificity is sometimes a feature, not a bug.

• "Congress is not always prescriptive, and sometimes that's intentional by Congress," she said.
• She also criticized the conservative justices who have pushed to nix Chevron: "If you've never worked in an agency where you have to take the laws that have been created from Congress and then interpret them … then you're in for a rude awakening."

Shelley Moore Capito said she sees a "big impact" since the case could pile onto the regulatory restrictions spelled out in West Virginia v. EPA.

• "I would say we've got to be more careful about what we write and how we write it."

Sheldon Whitehouse thinks "most of the damage" for environmental regulators was done by the major questions doctrine, established in West Virginia.

• "The Administrative Procedure Act, at the end of the day, allows agencies a lot of leeway where there is adequate record support and where there is a logical connection between the record and the rule."
• Overturning Chevron might not force Congress to be more specific, he said, but it would "add massive incoherence and confusion into administrative proceedings."

A company that's developed a novel new nuclear waste disposal technology hopes Congress' overwhelming support for the ADVANCE Act will lend its efforts some political momentum.

Why it matters: As nuclear energy gains in political and public acceptance, many observers say the issue of how to dispose of waste over the longer term deserves far more attention.

Driving the news: Deep Isolation Inc. CEO Rod Baltzer spent this week in D.C. meeting with Energy Department officials and others to explain its nuclear waste disposal system.

• "Seeing the ADVANCE Act pass the Senate 88-2 ... that's phenomenal," said Baltzer, who formerly headed Texas' Waste Control Specialists.

How it works: Deep Isolation wants to use directional drilling technology, popular in the oil and gas industry, to dig long, narrow holes thousands of feet underground into which canisters of waste can be emplaced.

• The concept has both supporters and skeptics.
• Communities could use the technology to bury materials where they're generated, such as near advanced reactors, Baltzer said.
• "They can know going into it, 'OK, I'm going to get this power. I'm going to get these property taxes, these jobs, these other benefits. I'm also going to dispose of the waste here,'' he said. "And so you've got the full life cycle, but you can just dispose of your waste, not the nation's waste."

What's next: In the U.S., Baltzer sees deep isolation as a complement to — not a replacement for — a geologic repository as dictated by the 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act. But first, laws and regulations need to "catch up."

• "I think there's some progress toward that. We're definitely having conversations where we can and as we can as a small business."

⛏️ 1. Miner or major: The House China committee is forming a new "critical minerals" working group led by Reps. Rob Wittman and Kathy Castor.

• It'll develop legislation to reduce U.S. dependence on China for energy transition minerals like cobalt and graphite.
• Per the committee, the task force will "develop a package of proposed investments, regulatory reforms and tax incentives."

❌ 2. NEPA no more: Sen. Joe Manchin and Rep. Garret Graves formally introduced their CRA resolution to toss out the Biden administration's NEPA implementation regs.

💵 3. Money moves: The Senate will begin marking up its appropriations bills after the July 4 recess, Approps Chair Patty Murray said on the floor this week.

• There's still no agreement on top-line spending, with Republicans pushing for defense increases and Democrats looking for parity with non-defense spending.
• House appropriators, meanwhile, are scheduled to mark up their energy-water and Interior-environment bills next week.