The Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments in the Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo case for January 17, 2024. The Court will decide whether they should overrule Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, a landmark precedent in 1984 that granted substantial deference to Federal Agencies in deciding how laws are interpreted, and thus also allowed them to promulgate rules in areas where underlying laws in ambiguous situations as long as its interpretation is “reasonable.”
Chevron is likely the most frequently cited case in American administrative law. Many legal actions have been dismissed by lower courts based on the “Chevron Deference,” refusing to hear arguments that the rules and decisions were made in violation of Federal law.
Loper Bright Enterprises is a group of fishing companies that is suing Gina Raimondo as the Secretary of Commerce. Commercial fisherman have been required by the National Maritime Fisheries Service to provide space on each boat for an inspector to monitor their fishing activities. Not only must they provide valuable cabin space, but they are required to pay the wages and benefits of that Federal employee, approximately $700 per day.
This case will decide 2 questions, one whether the Agency has the authority to require domestic vessels to pay the salary of the monitors they must carry, and more importantly for us, whether the Court should overrule Chevron, which would strip Federal Agencies of the deference granted by the Chevron decision.
What does this mean for us? The Federal Government has been steadily increasing their regulations by broadly interpreting underlying statutes, often using that deference to legislative by unelected officials. The underlying argument for the recently proposed BLM Landscape Health and Conservation Rule is largely based on an overly broad interpretation of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. Many people complain about overreaches in Federal power. Many of the Justices have commented over the years raising the question about whether Chevron was improperly decided, and a positive outcome in this decision will go a long way to restoring balance and holding Federal agencies in check.
We are very hopeful that the current Supreme Court will decide favorably on this appeal. The oral arguments will be heard in January, but the final decision will probably not be announced until the Summer.
By Loren Campbell November 29, 2023
Utah Public Lands Alliance
Fighting to Keep Access to Your Public Lands
