Recent Projects

Policy Integrity director, Richard Revesz, legal director, Jason Schwartz, and legal fellow Denise Grab were at the Supreme Court today to hear oral arguments in the case challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from stationary sources under the prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) program.

Today, Policy Integrity filed an amicus brief with the Supreme court which argues that in place of an established, relatively unchallenged understanding of EPA authority, a lower court substituted its preferred policy for that of the agency. In doing so, it acted inconsistently with core principles of American administrative law.

Policy Integrity submitted an amicus brief in conjunction with the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic and the Harvard Emmett Environmental Law & Policy Clinic in support of the EPA for a federal court case challenging the agency’s proposed standards to curb mercury and toxic air pollution from power plants. Some industry groups are contesting the EPA’s “National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants from Coal and Oil-Fired Electric Utility Steam Generating Units” (otherwise known as the MATS rule) finalized last year.

Policy Integrity submitted an amicus brief today on a federal court case challenging the EPA’s ability to regulate emissions from motor vehicles. Some industry groups and states are contesting the validity of the EPA and NHTSA’s (National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration) “Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards and Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards” finalized last year.

In November 2008, the Bush Administration finalized a regulation allowing truck drivers to spend more hours behind the wheel. To counter the deregulation, advocacy groups including Public Citizen filed suit against the Federal Motor Carrier and Safety Administration (part of the Department of Transportation) in March 2009.