The Effects of EPA Regulation on the Trucking Industry

At first glance, the easy answer is ôno.ö At least that is what the U.S. Supreme Court held in Whitman v. American Trucking Associations (2001) in a case that addressed an earlier set of EPA regulations. A unanimous court upheld the Clean Air Act, and more importantly, the justices ruled that the EPA did not have to consider the cost to business when it promulgated regulations. The only criterion the EPA must consider is the benefit to public health.

In the Whitman case, Carol Browner, the director of the EPA during the Clinton Administration, revised the national ambient air quality standards, thus requiring a reduction in the amount of certain particles in the

. . .
hoped economic prohibitive regulations would provide an incentive for innovation. That said, Congress did not implore the EPA to promulgate regulations that will eliminate all pollutants, no matter the cost. Such a stand would be irrational, according to Justice Breyer. Section 109(b)(1) of the CAA directs the Administrator to set standards that are ôrequisite to protect the public healthö with ôan adequate margin of safety.ö That does not mean a world that is free of all risk, an objective that is both impossible and undesirable. But it does mean creating reasonable standards to insure public health, even if such standards impose a disproportionate burden on one group. ôAfter all, the EPA, in setting standards that 'protect the public health' with 'an adequate margin of safety,' retains discretionary authority to avoid regulating risks that it reasonably concludes are trivial in context.ö Thus, according to Justice Breyer, an expert in administrative law, a regulation that resulted in a net loss for public health would be unconstitutional. That is because it would not be a rule ôrequisite to protect the public health,ö as required by Section 109(b)(1). Consequently, the argument proffered by the ATAùthat a ruling in favor
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Justice Breyer, Supreme Court, Bush Administration, Act CAA, Justice Souter, Breyer Section, CAA EPA, Agency EPA, Clinton Administration, According Thomas, epa consider, clean air, air act, supreme court, clean air act, public health, justice breyer, american trucking, american trucking assns, trucking assns, cost-benefit analysis, assns inc, trucking assns inc, inc epa 175, 175 3d 1027,
Approximate Word count = 2619
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)

More Essays on The Effects of EPA Regulation on the Trucking Industry