Blog: Unpacking the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on the “Chevron Doctrine”
We asked our senior fellow Brian Gray, a retired environmental law professor, to help us understand the implications of the US Supreme Court’s recent decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondi, which overruled the “Chevron doctrine.” … What are likely consequences of the Loper decision for California water policy? I believe that the effects of Loper will be relatively muted. Most aspects of California water management and regulation are governed by state law, and the California courts have generally deferred to state agency interpretations of statutes governing water rights, water quality, protection of fish and wildlife, and management of wetlands and intermittent streams. In fact, the California Supreme Court has held that judicial deference is heightened when the statutory text is “technical, obscure, complex, open-ended, or entwined with issues of fact, policy, and discretion” and the agency has “expertise and technical knowledge” over the subject.
Related Supreme Court decision analysis:
- Arizona State University: The potential Arizona water impacts of recent US Supreme Court opinions