Federal Environmental Authority: Eroding Recently?

The period between 2023 and 2025 marked a huge reversal in the common United States environmental policy compared to years prior. A combination of certain primary forces characterized this development, particularly two forces: a series of Supreme Court Decisions that reduced the extent of power held by true expert agencies, and arranged executive action to repeal environmental aid efforts. In other words, the federal government has de-emphasized the enforcement of environmental issues in the United States of America, thereby dismantling many decades of environmental law precedents. Essentially, foundational changes to the government have caused a lack of insight on issues regarding the welfare of our environment, and a reassertion of government and judiciary supremacy over expert corporations has been established, proving more harm than good. 

The primary impact of the highest court of America on such issues was shown through the 2022 decision in West Virginia v. EPA, in which the court cemented the Major Questions Doctrine, or MQD, as a tool to be utilized for judicial review. The MQD, to elaborate, holds that administrative agencies are unable to assert authority over issues that can be considered of "vast economic and political significance” without clear authorization from Congress. This doctrine has been consistently used to strike down any ambitious rules, often arguing that regulatory actions like the carbon emission standards in the United States are “ultra vires.” Essentially, the MQD is employed to limit the powers of the EPA and its modern scope and application by constraining it with the utilization of older laws. 

The Chevron Rule (Chevron deference, introduced in 2024 in Loper Bright v. Raimondo) has been repeatedly defied and misused by modern judges. The rule originally implied that in the case of vague Congressional legislation or wording regarding environmental policies, judges would turn to government experts, such as scientists at the EPA, to properly interpret such writing and implement it correctly. Therefore, the benefit of large companies comes directly from generalist judges who ignore the scientifically accurate understandings of previously referred to government experts. In addition, the Clean Water Act (CWA) has evidently been broken down, with the WOTUS (Waters of the U.S.), which previously allowed the United States government to dictate the kinds of water that needed protection, being overturned in 2023 via Sackett v. EPA. This has exhibited the result of the nation’s wetlands and small streams, specifically those out in the West, being unprotected and providing further protection for polluters and large, developing chains. 

The NEPA, or the National Environmental Policy Act, forces government agencies to study the harm and impact of their decisions before proceeding with huge projects, to minimize the detrimental effects that are posed on the environment post-construction. A recent 2025 Supreme Court case ruling, however, made NEPA significantly weaker. The Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County was brought to court pertaining to a new railroad line built to ship oil.  With this new ruling, agencies can choose to ignore environmental issues, as long as they feel that a given issue is far enough away or unforeseen to cause severe damage. For instance, if a new oil transport project is approved, the mass pollution it causes doesn’t have to be accounted for. In addition, beyond court rulings, administrations are dampening the environmental reform occurring in the nation as a whole. Actions that, through an external lens, seem implausible, are being actively carried out by these administrations — such as the dissolving of standards for major environmental stressors like power plant pollution and oil/gas emissions. 

These administrations have also seriously cut back on efforts to enforce environmental protection laws, and apprehend people who violate them, meaning that citizens can pollute as they please and likely won’t get caught or arrested. Furthermore, the EPA’s budget and staff have been significantly cut down, making inspections less feasible because of lack of staff and funds. These rudimentary issues make even small actions by the entity unworkable. 

The overall landscape of federal governance in terms of the environment has been essentially compromised via the combination of restrictive jurisdiction and strategic deregulation of administrative power. The application of doctrines (such as the aforementioned Major Questions Doctrine and ensuring reversal of the Chevron deference) have severely dampened the abilities of the nation’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), lessening its scope. Therefore, dire nationwide issues like climate change and water management in the U.S. have been negatively influenced by this legal shift and will most likely go unaddressed entirely.