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54 Admin. L. Rev. 719 (2002)
Judicial Review of Informal Statutory Interpretations: The Answer Is Chevron Step Two, Not Christensen or Mead

handle is hein.journals/admin54 and id is 729 raw text is: JUDICIAL REVIEW OF INFORMAL STATUTORY INTERPRETATIONS: THE ANSWER IS CHEVRON STEP TWO, NOT CHRISTENSEN OR MEAD WILLIAM S. JORDAN, 111* TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ........................................................................................... 719 I. The Perceived Problems with Informal Interpretations ................. 720 II. The Court's Response: The Christensen Conundrum and the M ead M ess ................................................................................. 721 A. The Christensen Conundrum ......................... 722 B . The M ead M ess .................................................................... 725 III. The Answers the Court Missed: Chevron Step Two Review and Prim ary Jurisdiction ................................................................... 727 TV. Drawing the Line-Congress Must Have Delegated Lawmaking Power to the Agency ................................................ 730 Conclusion: What We Need After Christensen and Mead ...................... 732 INTRODUCTION The U.S. Supreme Court has taken the wrong approach to review of in- formal statutory interpretations issued by administrative agencies. First in Christensen v. Harris County,' then in United States v. Mead Corp.,2 the Court created a cumbersome, unworkable regime under which courts must draw increasingly fine distinctions using impossibly vague standards.3 If courts are able to draw such fine distinctions, they will then, presumably with some frequency, issue binding statutory interpretations that usurp * C. Blake McDowell Professor of Law, University of Akron School of Law. B.A., Stanford University, J.D., University ofMichigan Law School. 1. 529 U.S. 576 (2000). 2. 533 U.S. 218 (2001). 3. See William S. Jordan, IR United States v. Mead: Complicating the Delegation Dance, 31 Envtl. L. Rep. (EnvtL L. Inst.) 11,425, 11,429-30 (2001) (discussing how courts have responded to changes brought about by Mead). 719

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