As courts usurp federal regulatory authority, New Mexicans will suffer ‘grave harm’
Everyone likes having clean water to drink or clean air to breathe. Yet, industry and industry-backed politicians and judges continue eroding bedrock environmental laws and regulations in the United States.
At the end of June, you might have seen headlines and social media posts about the Chevron Doctrine and the U.S. Supreme Court. In a 6-3 ruling on two cases related to industrial herring fishing, the Supreme Court knocked down the ability of federal agencies (like the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA) to regulate pollution, protect the environment and public health, and more. (Those two cases, by the way: Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce.)
The June ruling overturns something called the Chevron Doctrine, which was established in 1984 after the court ruled on another case and established the precedent that courts should defer to federal agencies (with their expertise and scientists and public processes) when it comes to interpreting federal laws like the Clean Air Act.
(As an aside: That case during the Reagan administration was Chevron U.S.A. v. Natural Resources Defense Council. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Chevron. Hence, the Chevron Doctrine. I know, it’s confusing, but that ruling established the precedent that courts should defer to the federal agencies’ interpretations and applications of federal laws.)
There are lots of important things to understand about all of this. But the most important thing to understand is power. That’s according to Western Environmental Law Center Executive Director Erik Schlenker-Goodrich, who was on the show last week.
“The challenge now,” he said, “is that courts are usurping that authority [of federal agencies] and aggregating power to themselves to decide how laws should be applied.”
He added: “When you look at that exercise of power, it is elevating economic interests. So, I think what happens ultimately is this comes at the expense of the public interest — and that will cause grave harm to New Mexico across all arenas from public health and safety to environmental protection to climate action to worker safety.”
As part of a longer conversation, Schlenker-Goodrich talked about the court decision, what’s at stake in the presidential election, power, optimism, and an “ecology of kinship.”
To read more about some of the topics we talked about:
• “What Trump 2.0 Could Mean for the Environment” (Brad Plumer and Lisa Friedman, The New York Times)
• “Everything You Need to Know About Project 2025’s Plan for the EPA” (Amy Westervelt, Drilled Newsletter)
• “Project 2025’s extreme vision for the West” (Michelle Nijhuis and Erin X. Wong, High Country News)
• “Repeal of the Chevron doctrine will have profound consequences for federal rulemaking” (Nick Bowlin, Joaqlin Estus, Natalia Mesa, Kylie Mohr, and Erin X. Wong, High Country News)
• Project 2025 Presidential Transition Project: Mandate for Leadership, the Conservative Promise (The Heritage Foundation)
More news for you:
• “Wandering wolf of the Southwest confined through 2025 breeding season in hopes of producing pups” (Morgan Lee, Associated Press)
• “Six tribal water rights settlements for NM heard on Capitol Hill” (Danielle Prokop, Source NM)
• “Details on the U.S. House proposals to resolve tribal water rights settlements in NM” (Danielle Prokop, Source NM)
• “NM school district, power utility sue FEMA, alleging unfair hurdle gets in way of fire compensation” (Patrick Lohmann, Source NM)
• “State reports 31 violations at Taos landfill” (Geoffrey Plant, Taos News)
• “Open house gathers water planning input” (Juno Ogle, Silver City Daily Press)
• “What a Kamala Harris presidency could mean for the West” (Anna V. Smith and Erin X. Wong, High Country News)
• “Documents, Whistleblowers, and Public Comments Are Clear: Oil Companies Know Carbon Capture Is Not a Climate Solution” (Amy Westervelt, Drilled)
And thanks to an eagle-eyed newsletter subscriber who emailed me this announcement from Insider.com: “Premier American Uranium Outlines Multiple Targets for Expansion Drilling at the Cebolleta Project, New Mexico.”
Speaking of uranium, be sure to tune into New Mexico in Focus on Friday night.
KUNM’s Megan Kamerick will be on the show, hosting a conversation with the University of New Mexico’s Dr. Myrriah Gómez and Don Hancock with the Southwest Research and Information Center.
The three discuss the recent Town Hall about cleanup at Los Alamos hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration and Office of Environmental Management. Gómez and Hancock talk about the new generation of nuclear weapons Los Alamos plans to manufacture as well as the history and future of nuclear weapons and waste in New Mexico.
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