U.S. Election Results Likely to Bring Intensified Congressional Scrutiny of EPA's Greenhouse Gas Regulations
11/8/2010

Stoel Rives attorney Graham Noyes commented on the possible effects of the recent U.S. elections on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ("EPA") greenhouse gas regulations. Many critics of the EPA's regulations have argued the agency exceeded its statutory mandate, under the Clean Air Act. With Republicans once again enjoying a significant majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, intensified Congressional efforts to challenge the EPA's regulations are widely expected.

Noyes said that many of the EPA's critics fail to appreciate the circumstances behind the EPA's action. "A lot of the rhetoric out there about the EPA overreaching misses the point of the Supreme Court telling the EPA that they had to address this issue," said Noyes. "I think that's a fundamental misunderstanding of the state of the law of this country. The EPA has been forced to make this [regulatory] decision."

"Elections Move Enviro Focus Out of Congress" was published by Law 360, November 3, 2010.