b'Member NewsRules & RegulationsSUPREME COURT CURBS AUTHORITY of Federal Regulatory AgenciesWashington, D.C. -The U.S. Supreme Courts 6-3 decision in June to overturn their 1984 decision giving deference to the federal regulations when challenged in court will significantly weaken the regulatory power of agencies like the EPA, U.S. DOT, OSHA, etc. The now overturned 1984 ruling known as the Chevron deference required courts to defer to federal agencies expertise when interpreting ambiguous statutes passed by Congress. Typically, Congressional legislation is broad in nature, leaving the task of filling in the gaps to the federal agencies. The Supreme Court determined in 1984 that federal agencies had more expertise to fill in those gaps than federal judges. As a result, when a federal regulation Mark S. Morgan, Esqwas challenged in court, judges assumed the agencies acted within their statutory author-Energy Marketers ofity, absent clear evidence to the contrary. Thus, the Chevron deference allowed agencies, in America (EMA) some cases, to expand their regulatory authority well beyond what Congress intended. The Regulatory Counsel demise of the Chevron deference will not only reign in the power of federal agencies but also encourage legal challenges to future federal rulemakings.According to the written opinion of U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts, the 1984 decisioncreating the Chevron deference is contrary to the Framers understanding or our form ofgovernment. Roberts went on to quote Chief Justice John Marshalls famous 1803 decision in Marbury v. Madison declaring that, [i]t is emphatically the province and duty of the [ju-diciary] to say what the law is. That, said Roberts, means that courts, not agencies, decide what the law is, and if Congress wants to do something different, it should say so explicitly.So, what does all this mean for energy marketers? Certainly, the absence of judicial defer-ence will slow down the regulatory process as agencies more carefully weigh their authority granted under Congressional legislation. Moreover, an expected increase in the number of lawsuits challenging new regulations will significantly delay their implementation as final rules. Lawsuits could add years to the length of time it takes federal agencies to promulgate a new rule. A typical two year final rule promulgation period could stretch beyond six years or more, in some cases. Dozens of lawsuits have already been filed against the EPA in the month since the Chevron deference was overturned. Numerous lawsuits challenging the 22 www.wpma.com / Summer 2024'