High Court Agrees To Hear Suit Over Agencies' Power To Re-Interpret Rules

摘要

The Supreme Court has agreed to review an appellate ruling that would require EPA and other agencies to follow notice-and-comment procedures when they amend interpretations of their rules, a case that could create procedural difficulties for the Obama administration's rule exempting certain farm practices from Clean Water Act (CWA) permits. In June 16 orders, the justices accepted certiorari in the linked cases Thomas Perez, et al. v. Mortgage Banking Association (MBA), et al. and Nichols, et al. v. MBA, et al, which test whether agencies must follow notice-and-comment rulemaking to revise their existing interpretations of rules. The court will hear the case in late 2014 or early 2015, with a decision to follow potentially as soon as 2-3 months after arguments.