Environmental Regulation One Year After Loper Bright: Judicial Review, Policy Shifts, NEPA Rulings

Following Loper Bright’s rejection of Chevron deference, courts now have the final say in interpreting environmental statutes. Corner Post extended the timeframe for challenging agency rules, allowing litigation even years after rule adoption, upon first harm to a regulated party. 

In City & County of San Francisco, the Court limited EPA's ability to impose generic pollutant discharge bans without defined limits, emphasizing the recent Court penchant for statutory precision post-Loper Bright. In Seven County Infrastructure, the Court affirmed agencies' discretion under NEPA to exclude certain upstream and downstream impacts from review. 

Loper Bright’s elimination of Chevron deference and Corner Post’s extension of challenge periods were the first steps in reshaping environmental litigation in a year of profound changes in statutory interpretation and regulatory reinterpretation. 

Listen as our expert panel navigates Loper Bright, Corner Post, and more recent decisions, distilling what direction can be found, and offering strategies for advising clients. The panel will address heightened judicial scrutiny, new litigation potential, and adjusted regulatory compliance approaches.

I. Introduction

II. Case evolution and timeline

A. Loper Bright Enterprises

B. Corner Post Inc.

C. City & County of San Francisco

D. Seven County Infrastructure

III. Agency and administration policy shifts

IV. Legislative and regulatory impact

V. Practice considerations

The panel will address these and other important considerations:

• Judicial rebalancing of agency power
• Impact on EPA and other environmental agencies
• Litigation and compliance strategy
• Administrative policy shifts
• Potentially vulnerable rules, and what's next?