West Virginia v. EPA

597 U.S. 697 · Supreme Court of the United States · 2022

Facts

In 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promulgated the Clean Power Plan rule, which addressed carbon dioxide emissions from existing coal- and natural-gas-fired power plants, citing Section 111 of the Clean Air Act. The Clean Power Plan determined that the "best system of emission reduction" (BSER) included measures involving "generation shifting" from higher-emitting to lower-emitting producers of electricity. The D.C. Circuit vacated EPA's repeal of the Clean Power Plan and its replacement rule, the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) Rule, concluding that generation shifting could be a "system of emission reduction" under Section 111.

Issue

The question before us is whether this broader conception of EPA’s authority is within the power granted to it by the Clean Air Act.

Holding

Congress did not grant EPA in Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act the authority to devise emissions caps based on the generation shifting approach the Agency took in the Clean Power Plan. The Court reversed and remanded the D.C. Circuit's decision.

Rule

Under the major questions doctrine, given both separation of powers principles and a practical understanding of legislative intent, the agency must point to “clear congressional authorization” for the authority it claims. A vague statutory grant is not close to the sort of clear authorization required for decisions of such economic and political significance.

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Case brief last reviewed 2026-02-21. Prepared by CaseReader from the published opinion.