Who Knew EPA Could Not Set Air Quality Standards?
In 1999, several industry groups challenged EPA’s authority to set certain air quality standards under the Clean Air Act. Despite three decades of judicial affirmation of the agency’s authority to set such standards, this time industry invoked the antiquated “non-delegation doctrine” to argue that Congress had improperly delegated its lawmaking authority to EPA without providing sufficient guidance on how to exercise this authority. A divided panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals — the nation’s second-highest court — agreed, marking the first time this theory had been applied to limit congressional authority in more than 70 years. This decision not only undermined the Clean Air Act, but also threatened EPA’s ability to frame specific rules to implement almost any environmental legislation. Fortunately, a unanimous Supreme Court overturned this far-fetched result, finding that the Clean Air Act’s delegation of authority to the EPA is in fact constitutional. While this battle for en
