The Supreme Court threatens our progress, but we’re ready
It’s been an infuriating Supreme Court term for those of us who care about environmental progress.
The Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority handed win after win in radical test cases designed to destabilize the foundation of administrative law, jeopardizing longstanding protections for clean air, clean water, and other environmental safeguards.
Last week’s decision on the joint cases of Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce empowered federal judges to second guess agency experts whenever they can ferret out legal ambiguity. This reversal of the Chevron doctrine, in place for nearly 40 years, sidelines experienced professionals, and shifts power to judges who lack the expertise of staff who live and breathe the science, financial principles, and safety concerns that federal agencies specialize in.
That was followed by yesterday’s decision in Corner Post v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, which upended existing deadlines for challenging many government regulations. Together these decisions invite hundreds of new challenges aimed at reversing long-established protections we all take for granted.
These deregulatory rulings tipped the balance of power away from everyday Americans who depend on commonsense protections to polluters and commercial interests that prioritize profit over public health and the environment.
In the chaotic aftermath, SELC and our partner organizations will be an essential counterbalance to this assault on the laws that protect our communities and our environment.
This moment demands much from all of us, but SELC is ready.
Executive Director DJ Gerken
We are ready. We have been working with agencies to make sure their regulations are as well-supported and durable as possible. And as always, we’ll keep fighting in courts, legislative bodies, and local town halls across the South against any efforts to throw out the critical environmental protections we all depend on.
As our Litigation Director Kym Meyer shared with reporters after the decisions, “With so much at stake, and an avalanche of litigation likely to follow, SELC and our team of litigators stand ready to fight back. We will step in where needed to defend the well-reasoned regulations our government has set in place over decades to protect the environment and people in the South.”
At SELC, we are taking a stand to defend the integrity of our legal system and the bedrock environmental laws that protect our southern communities.
This moment demands much from all of us, but SELC is ready.