Lessons Learned and A New Regulatory Tool

In 1984, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on a Clean Air Act case in what has since become one of the most cited U.S. administrative law judgments: Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. ¹ In Chevron, the Supreme Court stated that reasonable actions by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and by extension other government agencies, are entitled to deference: “When a challenge to an agency construction of a statutory provision, fairly conceptualized, really centers on the wisdom of the agency’s policy, rather than whether it is a reasonable choice within a gap left open by Congress, the challenge must fail. In such a case, federal judges—who have no constituency—have a duty to respect legitimate policy choices made by those who do” (467 U.S. 837, 1984).