By Tom Hals
(Reuters) – Opponents of federal regulations covering a wide range of sectors including mining and agriculture got a new chance to roll back the rules on Tuesday, as the U.S. Supreme Court applied a new standard to test the power of federal agencies.
Nine lower court rulings were overturned by the Supreme Court and sent back for reconsideration in light of Friday’s decision overturning the decades-old Chevron doctrine, which requires judges to rely on agencies to interpret laws they apply.
The cases were the first in what is expected to be a wave of rulings reassessing the power of federal regulators, who make rules on everything from food and drugs to airlines and drinking water.
“This is going to have far-reaching implications that we will feel for months and years to come,” said Loren Seehase, a senior attorney at the conservative legal group Liberty Justice Center.
Friday’s ruling, in a case known as Loper Bright, does not mean that any specific arrangement will be reversed. Some experts warn against placing too much value on its impact.
However, the ruling does mean that judges must carry out an independent assessment to determine whether a scheme is lawful.
Before the Supreme Court overturned the 1984 Chevron precedent, judges had to defer to an agency’s interpretation when a law was ambiguous.
The cases returning to the lower courts Tuesday involve a 13-year dispute between South Dakota farmer Arlen Foster and Agriculture Department regulators, who concluded that an eight-inch puddle on his property was a protected wetland.
Foster’s case turned in part on the interpretation of the Swampbuster Act and the deference shown to regulators by the 8th U.S. Court of Appeals in St. Louis last year.
“Our clients can now argue their cases in court without judges giving the government a hard time,” said Paige Gilliard, Foster’s attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation.
Other cases brought before lower courts involved challenges to regulations on coal mining, solar energy, immigration and rewards for whistleblowers who expose tax evaders.
Supporters of reversing the Chevron stay said they expect the ruling in the Loper Bright case will bolster other regulatory challenges in cases not yet filed with the Supreme Court.
One of these rules is the ESG Investment Rule, which allows fiduciaries to consider environmental, social and governance factors when evaluating financial investment plans.
A trial court upheld the rule in September, applying the Chevron stay. Oral arguments in the appeal are scheduled for Tuesday in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, and both sides have already cited Loper Bright’s ruling in their appeals.
Opponents argued that this meant the ESG regulations should be repealed, while the Justice Department noted that Chevron was never pressed by the government to defend the regulations.
(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; additional reporting by Nate Raymond and Dan Wiessner; editing by Noeleen Walder and Rod Nickel)
