Murray Energy Corporation v. Administrator of Environmental Protection Agency

Authors

Peter B. Taylor, Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of MontanaFollow

Case Summary Citation

Murray Energy Corporation v. Administrator of Environmental Protection Agency, 861 F.3d 529 (4th Cir. 2017).

Abstract

Congress amended the Clean Air Act in 1977 because of public concern that enforcement of the Clean Air Act would have adverse effects on employment. Section 321(a) tasks the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency with a continuous duty to evaluate the potential employment impact of the administration and enforcement of the Clean Air Act. In Murray Energy Corporation v. Administrator of Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled on whether the federal court’s authority to review and enforce non-discretionary Clean Air Act duties extended to the EPA’s Section 321(a) duty to continuously evaluate the employment ramifications of the Clean Air Act. Ultimately, the Fourth Circuit ruled that the EPA’s Section 321(a) duty was discretionary and not reviewable by federal courts.