Supreme Court weighs which courts can hear Clean Air Act disputes

The Supreme Court appears poised to keep at least some Clean Air Act disputes in federal courts outside of D.C. — preventing what at least one justice described as “home court advantage” for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The justices heard a pair of cases on Tuesday about whether certain Clean Air Act disputes should be heard in federal court in D.C. or in federal court in various regions around the nation.

Certain regional courts may have a more conservative or liberal ideological bent, depending on which president appointed its justices.

The Clean Air Act states that “nationally applicable” determinations made under it should be heard at the D.C. Circuit while “locally or regionally applicable” decisions should be reviewed in the circuit court that has jurisdiction over that region.

The law also contains an exception for locally applicable decisions where the EPA administrator finds they were based on "a determination of nationwide scope or effect."

The first case heard by the court on Tuesday was about the proper venue for EPA’s determinations on biofuel blending requirements for oil refineries.

The EPA recently denied exemptions for a slate of oil refineries.

The federal government argued that challenges to such decisions should be weighed in D.C. to prevent “wasting judicial resources and creating a heightened risk of inconsistent outcomes,” according to Malcolm Stewart, Department of Justice deputy solicitor general.

However, a lawyer representing oil refineries argued that the EPA’s denials of their request for biofuel blending exemptions were local decisions impacting individual refineries.

During this questioning, the court’s conservative majority seemed inclined to have such disputes heard in the regional circuit courts.

“You're asking us to change historical practice pretty radically,” Justice Neil Gorsuch told the government lawyer at one point.

Meanwhile, Justice Samuel Alito pushed back on arguments that the EPA should get some deference under the law.

“Isn't it very odd to say that the court, in deciding whether there's venue in one place or the other, should defer to the view … [of] one of these parties who are contesting the right to get home court advantage?”

The second case taken up by the court reviewed a similar issue — whether rejections of state air quality plans under the Clean Air Act should be taken up in the region of the state or at the D.C. Circuit.

While the two cases deal with similar issues, it’s not clear whether the justices will see them the same way.

“Gosh, if anything is nationwide in impact, it's got to be air pollution because it travels,” Gorsuch said.

Meanwhile, during the first slate of arguments, liberal Justice Elena Kagan signaled that she felt like the cases should be decided differently.

“I have a pretty strong intuition — I won't tell you what it is — about both of these cases. And one goes one way and one goes the other way,” she said, adding that in one case “everything is being decided by the nationwide determination” while in the other “pretty much nothing is being decided by the nationwide determination.”

Topics

Supreme Court takes up case over Colorado "conversion therapy" ban for minors

The dispute will be heard by the Supreme Court in its next term, which begins in October.
CBS News - Mar. 10
Supreme Court grapples with role of race in Louisiana election map dispute

The Supreme Court grappled with whether or not to send Louisiana legislators back to the drawing board in a high-stakes dispute over its congressional districts.
ABC News - 1d
Supreme Court justice's sister receives bomb threat at her home: Police

The sister of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett was targeted with a bomb threat on March 8, according to the Charleston Police Department.
ABC News - Mar. 13
Supreme Court hears Louisiana racial gerrymandering claim

The Supreme Court hears an unusual case in which civil rights groups are in a tentative alliance with Republican officials in defending a Louisiana congressional map that includes two majority ...
NBC News - 2d
Supreme Court Will Not Hear Appeal in ‘Juliana’ Climate Case

The Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal in the long-running case, known as Juliana, which helped spawn legal strategies widely adapted to other lawsuits over climate.
The New York Times - 1d
Attorney General Pam Bondi says Supreme Court could get involved in Alien Enemies Act case

Attorney General Pam Bondi criticized judges who have struck down or paused portions of Trump’s agenda and said the Supreme Court will ultimately hear the Alien Enemies Act case.
NBC News - 2d
Supreme Court weighs whether to keep Louisiana congressional map

A redistricting battle over Louisiana's congressional map has spanned years and been before the Supreme Court twice already.
CBS News - 1d
Supreme Court weighs whether to keep Louisiana congressional map

A redistricting battle over Louisiana's congressional map has spanned years and been before the Supreme Court twice already.
CBS News - 1d
Supreme Court weighs whether to keep Louisiana congressional map

A redistricting battle over Louisiana's congressional map has spanned years and been before the Supreme Court twice already.
CBS News - 1d

More from The Hill

Trump is a defining issue at home and abroad

President Trump's actions have united Canadians against him, leading to a significant shift in support for the Liberal Party over the Conservative Party in the polls.
The Hill - 1h
Trump orders declassification of FBI’s Russia investigation

President Trump on Tuesday signed a memorandum directing the declassification of FBI files related to the investigation into his 2016 campaign's potential ties to Russia. The memorandum calls for ...
The Hill - 17h
In Trump versus the Constitution, Congress is backing the wrong side

We urgently need our courts and our elected officials, Democrats and Republicans, to reaffirm the checks and balances designed to prevent abuses of power by any president.
The Hill - 1d
Carville on Schumer CR vote: ‘This might turn out to be a wiser decision than people think’

Democratic strategist James Carville weighed in on Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer’s (N.Y.) decision to vote in favor of the House GOP-led continuing resolution, saying it might turn out to ...
The Hill - Mar. 18
Trump is reversing Nixon’s strategy to split China from Russia

The opening that Donald Trump sees is the one Richard Nixon saw half a century ago.
The Hill - 1h