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Supreme Court votes 8-0 to Narrow Scope of Environmental Reviews
[SCOTUSblog] The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously ruled to limit the scope of environmental review required under a seminal 1970s environmental protection law. The move brought a proposed 88-mile railroad line that would transport crude oil from oilfields in northern Utah to refineries on the Gulf Coast one step closer to production. Environmental groups and a neighboring Colorado county had told the justices that the federal agency that approved the project had failed to consider its broader environmental costs. In ruling for the railroad, the justices sketched out a relatively narrow role for courts reviewing future decisions under the National Environmental Policy Act, the landmark environmental law at the center of the case. Emphasizing that the “goal of the law is to inform agency decisionmaking, not to paralyze it,” Justice Brett Kavanagh explained that courts should give “substantial deference” to the agency’s determination as to what should be included in the environmental impact statement prepared for a project. “In deciding cases involving the American economy,” Kavanaugh concluded, “courts should strive, where possible, for clarity and predictability.” Related: Supreme Court: 2025-05-31 When Presidents Are Right and Courts Are Wrong: Defying the Bench to Save the Nation Supreme Court: 2025-05-31 SCOTUS Allows Trump Administration to Revoke Legal Status for 500K Illegal Aliens Supreme Court: 2025-05-30 Power-Grabbing WI Judges Are Learning From Rogue Federal Jurists Posted by: Bobby 2025-06-01 |
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