The U.S. Supreme Court building. (Win McNamee/Getty Images via the North Dakota Monitor)
( for the North Dakota Monitor) – U.S. Supreme Court justices heard oral arguments last week in a case that could allow states to challenge federal environmental rules in more favorable courts.
The case could determine whether certain U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations are reviewed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit — which has more liberal judges — or in regional courts, where certain states and industry groups would prefer to make their arguments.
The dispute centers around EPA’s decision that 21 states’ plans for ozone pollution failed to meet federal Clean Air Act standards. Oklahoma and Utah challenged that disapproval in the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which spans six Western states. The federal agency argued the challenge should be heard in the D.C. Circuit.
The D.C. Circuit is the venue for lawsuits over rules that are national in scope, while local or regional issues are heard in regional circuit courts. The EPA argues that it used a consistent methodology for all 21 denials, making it an issue that should be resolved nationally in a single court. Oklahoma and Utah contend that regional courts are better suited to account for state-specific factors.
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