The Supreme Court will consider a closely watched challenge to the scope of agencies’ National Environmental Policy Act reviews before the end of this year.
On Friday, the justices scheduled oral arguments for Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County for Dec. 10. The case is the only environmental challenge added to the court’s newly published December calendar.
The case has important implications for how agencies weigh climate risks posed by major projects. It centers on whether agencies should be required to consider environmental effects that agencies do not have direct authority to regulate and that do not occur near the project itself.
The justices’ decision in the case could also provide further guidance to split lower courts about how they should apply the Supreme Court’s precedent in Department of Transportation v. Public Citizen. The 2004 decision stated that agencies did not have to consider environmental effects under NEPA that they did not have statutory authority to prevent.
