U.S. Supreme Court Environmental Cases 2008-2009: A Year Like No Other
Daily Environment Report, Vol. 171, B-1, 2009
7 Pages Posted: 11 Sep 2009
Date Written: September 11, 2009
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.
Keywords: environmental law, supreme court, constitutional law
JEL Classification: K32
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation