West Virginia v. EPA: The Major Questions Doctrine and Its Impact on Agency Rulemaking

This program will provide the audience with a thorough understanding of the Environmental Protection Agency's prior regulatory efforts to regulate carbon emissions from power plants, including the Agency's shifting interpretations of the Clean Air Act supporting those regulations. This initial discussion will set the stage for a close look at the Supreme Court's significant decision in West Virginia v. EPA, in which the court deployed the Major Questions Doctrine to conclude that Congress has not delegated authority to EPA to substantially restructure the American electric market as a means of reducing carbon emissions from power plants under the Clean Air Act. The program will discuss the roots of the Major Questions Doctrine and explain how the opinions in West Virginia described and applied the doctrine. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the program will discuss the impact of this decision on EPA's authority to regulate carbon emissions from power plants and the potential impact of the Major Questions Doctrine on future administrative agency rulemaking efforts across the Executive Branch.

This program will benefit practitioners of environmental and administrative law as well as legal counsel who advise regulated entities, state and local governments, and nongovernmental organizations that participate in the regulatory development process. 

Learning Objectives: 

1. Understand the statutory underpinnings of EPA's Clean Air Act regulations addressing carbon emissions from power plants

2. Analyze the reasoning of West Virginia v. EPA

3. Identify the roots of the Major Questions Doctrine and explicate its scope and application

4. Assess the potential effects of West Virginia on EPA's authority to regulate carbon emissions from power plants

5. Analyze and predict the impact of the Major Questions Doctrine on future administrative agency rulemakings