U.S. Supreme Court Environmental Cases 2008-2009: A Year Like No Other

Abstract:     
The author of this article says the last term of the U.S. Supreme Court was in many respects like no other in modern environmental law. During the 2008-2009 term, the Supreme Court ruled on novel and important questions concerning preliminary injunctions under the National Environmental Policy Act; cost-benefit analyses and permitting under the Clean Water Act; arranger and joint and several liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act; and environmental standing. At no turn, says the author, did the court favor the environment over other interests. He says the court even reached down to reverse decisions in two cases the Bush administration did not appeal, intimating a degree of anti-environmental activism. The author says this does not bode well for the near future of environmental law.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 7

Keywords: environmental law, supreme court, constitutional law

JEL Classification: K32

Accepted Paper Series