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Constitutional Law Keyed to Choper
Whitman v. American Trucking Associations
Citation:
531 U.S. 457 (2001)Facts
In 1997, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) revised the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter and ozone under Section 109(b) of the Clean Air Act. This section requires the EPA to set primary NAAQS at levels “requisite to protect the public health” with “an adequate margin of safety.” American Trucking Associations and other industry groups challenged these revised standards, arguing that Section 109(b) of the Clean Air Act unconstitutionally delegated legislative power to the EPA because it failed to provide an “intelligible principle” to guide the EPA’s exercise of authority. They also argued that the EPA should consider economic costs of implementation when setting these standards. The D.C. Circuit agreed that the EPA’s interpretation violated the nondelegation doctrine but rejected the argument that the EPA should consider costs.
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