Environmental Regulation After Loper Bright and Corner Post: Agency Rulemaking, Judicial Review, Increased Litigation
Course Details
- smart_display Format
On-Demand
- signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
Intermediate
- work Practice Area
Environmental
- event Date
Tuesday, October 1, 2024
- schedule Time
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- timer Program Length
90 minutes
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This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
This CLE webinar will guide environmental practitioners through the recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which overturned the long-standing Chevron doctrine, and Corner Post Inc. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, which expands the time period during which plaintiffs may challenge agency rules in certain circumstances. The panel will address the impact these decisions may have on the EPA and its rulemaking process and address potential client impact.
Ms. Fleming advises a wide variety of business, institutional and organizational clients on all aspects of environmental policy, government relations, compliance planning, incident response, subsequent enforcement and litigation matters and special investigations for private and municipal clients. She also advises clients on environment, social and governance (ESG) issues and the impacts climate change can have on business operations. Ms. Fleming spent more than 20 years in the public sector, serving as both an elected and appointed official at the state and local levels, as well as in various branches of the federal government. She served as Principal Legal Advisor (General Counsel) for Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and as Chief of Staff to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) during the Obama Administration. In addition, Ms. Fleming served as the EPA Region 4 (Southeastern Region) Regional Administrator (RA), where she was responsible for establishing and implementing environmental policy, including the principals of environmental justice for eight southeastern states and six federally recognized tribes. Ms. Fleming finalized the Region's Environmental Justice (EJ) Policy (previously stagnated for 10 years), instituted regular environmental justice information sessions with state partners and communities, and created a Regional EJ Interagency Working Group with other federal agencies to strategically and comprehensively address community concerns. Ms. Fleming also instituted the Colleges and Underserved Community Partnership Program (CUPP) which partnered college students with senior federal staff to provide much needed environmental, health and technical services to some of the poorest jurisdictions in their region.
Mr. Cruden provides strategic counsel on high-stakes environmental and natural resources litigation, civil and criminal enforcement, and compliance. Working with clients makes the practice of law worthy and valuable to him as they advance strategic needs while protecting human health and the environment. Mr. Cruden is the Past Senate-confirmed Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Past President of Environmental Law Institute, Past President of American College of Environmental Lawyers, and Past Chair of ABA Section on Environment, Energy, and Resources.
Two recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Corner Post Inc. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, will have a significant impact on federal agency rulemaking, rule implementation, and legal challenges to federal rules. Environmental counsel should understand the implications these decisions may have on the EPA, environmental regulatory rulemaking and interpretation, and how their clients may be affected including whether and/or how these decisions may affect project development decisions.
Loper Bright overruled the Chevron doctrine which, for 40 years, has served as the two-step framework for federal courts in deciding disputes between federal agencies and private parties challenging agency regulations. Under Chevron, courts would first determine whether the statute at issue was ambiguous. If so, the courts were required to defer to the agency's interpretation as long as it was reasonable. Loper Bright has now put the task of interpreting statutory provisions into the hands of federal courts.
Corner Post has potentially increased agency exposure to suits by redefining when the statute of limitations period begins during which rules may be challenged. The Court held that the six-year statute of limitations for suits against the federal government begins to run only once the plaintiff experiences an injury, a significant change from the prior stance that the six-year period began once the rule was published.
Listen as our expert panel guides practitioners through the recent Loper Bright and Corner Post decisions and discusses the impact on environmental regulation where new challenges to longstanding regulations may be brought, even if they had previously been upheld. The panel will also discuss potential client impact.
- Introduction: a brief history of federal regulatory interpretation under Chevron
- Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo
- Corner Post Inc. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
- Legislative and regulatory effect
- Regulatory litigation challenges
- Client impact
- Practitioner takeaways
The panel will address these and other important considerations:
- What impact will Loper Bright have on judicial review of environmental regulations?
- Corner Post will have what effect on litigation challenging agency rules?
- How will the decisions affect environmental regulatory rulemaking?
- What is the potential impact of the decisions on clients including project development decisions?
