Number: RS22618
Title: The Supreme Court Takes Five Environmental Cases for Its 2006-2007 Term
Authors: Robert Meltz, American Law Division 
Abstract: The Supreme Court decided five environmental cases during its 2006-2007 term, a significant proportion of the 72 cases it heard. Two decisions involve the Clean Air Act: one ruling that the act allows the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate vehicle emissions based on their global warming impacts; the other, that EPA regulations validly impose an annual, as opposed to hourly, emissions change test in determining whether a modification of a stationary source makes it a "new source" requiring a permit. A Superfund Act decision held that liable parties who incur cleanup costs beyond their fair share may sue for reimbursement, despite another provision in the act restricting contribution actions. Another case dealt with the relationship between the Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act, holding that the former's mandate that EPA "shall" delegate a permitting program to a state when statutory criteria are met is not subject to the equally unqualified command in the latter that consultation with federal wildlife-protection agencies occur. The remaining case involves a constitutional issue. It held that two counties' "flow control" laws, requiring that solid waste generated within the counties be taken to processing facilities within the counties, did not offend the Constitution's "dormant commerce clause" because the facilities were publicly owned.
Pages: 6
Date: June 29, 2007