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1 1 (July 12, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/govehnx0001 and id is 1 raw text is: s@ Con gressionaI R .fesearch Service Supreme Court Addresses Major Questions Doctrine and EPA's Regulation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions July 12, 2022 On June 30, 2022, the Supreme Court decided West Virginia v EPA, a case with significant implications for U.S. environmental policy and, more broadly, for Congress's ability to delegate authority over significant policy decisions to executive agencies. The Court held that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) exceeded its authority under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) in its 2015 emission guidelines for existing fossil fuel-fired power plants, which were based in part on generation shifting, or shifting electricity generation from higher-emitting sources to lower-emitting ones. Under that decision, EPA retains the ability to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from power plants and other sources, but it now faces more constraints in how it regulates those emissions. Additionally, the Court's articulation and application of the major questions doctrine could present further hurdles for EPA or other agencies that wish to implement novel regulatory programs to address climate change or other significant policy issues. This Sidebar discusses the Court's decision, considers its implications for EPA's further regulation of GHG emissions and the federal regulatory process in general, and identifies considerations for Congress. Earlier CRS products discuss the statutory background and litigation history leading to West Virginia v EPA, as well as the Court's major questions doctrine prior to this ruling and in other cases this Term. Background West Virginia v. EPA addresses the 2015 Clean Power Plan (CPP) and the 2019 Affordable Clean Energy Rule (ACE Rule), which replaced the CPP. EPA issued both rules under CAA Section 111. As part of the CAA's overall scheme to limit the emission of pollutants from stationary sources, Section 111(d) directs EPA to establish emission guidelines for states to set standards of performance for existing stationary sources in source categories that EPA has found cause or contribute significantly to air pollution which may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare. EPA sets emission standards under Section 111(d) based on the emissions reductions achievable through application of the best system of emission reduction (BSER). Congressional Research Service https://crsreports. congress.gov LSB10791 CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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