Today the U.S. Supreme Court has granted six of the nine petitions for certiorari that had been filed by parties seeking review of E.P.A.’s greenhouse gas (“GHG”) decisions issued in late 2009 and early 2010. Those E.P.A. decisions led to stationary source permitting requirements for GHGs. As reported previously, last year, in a unanimous opinion, Coalition for Responsible Regulation, Inc. v. Environmental Protection Agency, No. 09-1322 (D.C. Cir. June 26, 2012), a three judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied challenges to four regulations (the Endangerment Finding, the Tailpipe Rule, the Timing Rule, and the Tailoring Rule) promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) that address greenhouse gas emissions. In granting the separate certiorari petitions the Court consolidated the cases and allotted a total of one hour for oral argument. The petitions for writs of certiorari also were granted to a limited extent only, with the Court agreeing to review only the following question: “Whether EPA permissibly determined that its regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from new motor vehicles triggered permitting requirements under the Clean Air Act for stationary sources that emit greenhouse gases.”
The court granted petitions for certiorari in Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA, 12-1146; American Chemistry Council v. EPA, 12-1248; Energy-Intensive Manufacturers v. EPA, 12-1254; Southeastern Legal Foundation v. EPA, 12-1268; Texas v. EPA, 12-1269; and Chamber of Commerce v. EPA, 12-1272. The court denied petitions for certiorari in Virginia v. EPA, 12-1152; Pacific Legal Foundation v. EPA, 12-1153; and Coalition for Responsible Regulation v. EPA, 12-1253.