What Is the Endangerment Finding, and Why Does It Matter?

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) move to regulate greenhouse gas emissions was set in motion when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in April 2007, in Massachusetts v. EPA, that the Clean Air Act gives the EPA the authority to regulate tailpipe emissions of greenhouse gases if it determines that these gases endanger human health and welfare.

In December 2009, the EPA issued an “endangerment finding” that greenhouse gases in the atmosphere threaten the public health and welfare of current and future generations.

Legal challenges

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld the EPA’s endangerment finding at the end of 2012, turning back legal challenges filed in February 2010 by several industry groups, conservative think tanks, lawmakers, and three states. Joining the debate on the other side were 16 states and New York City, supporting the EPA.

In further legal action, the U.S. Supreme Court in February 2014 heard oral arguments in Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA. That case hinged on a statutory conundrum: One part of the Clean Air Act requires that carbon dioxide emissions be regulated, but another part sets the emission thresholds so low that even schools and small businesses would be covered, which the EPA rejected as “absurd.”

The EPA’s solution was simply to change the threshold to a more reasonable level for carbon dioxide, but the court had to decide if the EPA was within its legal rights to do so.

In June 2014, in a split 5-4 decision, the court concluded that the EPA had exceeded its authority by changing the statutory thresholds, but that it could still treat greenhouse gases as pollutants and require control technologies for certain sources of greenhouse gases. The decision ultimately paved the way for the Obama administration to continue to pursue a number of climate change initiatives.

Current status

The Trump administration has been under pressure from some conservative groups to challenge the endangerment finding. However, the administration’s ability to do so may be compromised by its decision to rewrite, rather than abandon, the Clean Power Plan.

According to multiple legal experts, the EPA would have a hard time fighting the endangerment finding after writing a rule precipitated by that finding.

In December 2017, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a conservative policy group known for crafting model bills, abandoned a measure that called for reviewing the endangerment finding after major member corporations including Exxon Mobil, Pfizer, and UPS all denounced the resolution publicly.

What do you think?

Do you support the endangerment finding? Why or why not? Hit Take Action to tell your reps what you think, then share your thoughts below.

—Sara E. Murphy

(Photo Credit: iStock.com / Schroptschop)