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Legislative Process Keyed to Bressman, 4th Ed.
Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency
Citation:
549 U.S. 497 (2007)Facts
In 1999, a group of 19 private organizations filed a rulemaking petition asking EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from new motor vehicles under Section 202(a)(1) of the Clean Air Act. The petition cited evidence that human-influenced global climate change was occurring and would have serious adverse effects. EPA requested public comment and received over 50,000 comments. In 2003, EPA denied the petition on two grounds: (1) that the Clean Air Act did not authorize EPA to issue mandatory regulations to address global climate change, and (2) that even if it had the authority, it would be unwise to do so at that time. EPA reasoned that greenhouse gases did not qualify as “air pollutants” under the Act and that regulating them would conflict with other administration priorities. Massachusetts and other states, local governments, and private organizations sought judicial review of EPA’s decision, arguing that the agency had abdicated its responsibility under the Clean Air Act.
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