Articles

Court strikes down federal fracking regulations

June 24, 2016 | By JONATHAN WOOD

Over on the Federalist Society’s FEDSOC BLOG, I have a post discussing a recent decision from a federal court that federal bureaucrats overstepped their authority when they adopted fracking regulations. In 2005, Congress exempted fracking from regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act (the primary federal statute intended to protect drinki ...

Articles

Should unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats have free rein to regulate whatever they please?

September 26, 2016 | By JONATHAN WOOD

PLF argues “no,” in an amicus brief supporting four states, industry groups, and an Indian tribe in their challenge to the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) unlawful fracking regulation. It purports to regulate all fracking on federal lands based on the potential impacts of fracking to underground drinking water sources, despite t ...

Articles

17 states : The time has come to reconsider Chevron deference and this is the case to do it with

July 06, 2018 | By JONATHAN WOOD

As the President prepares to nominate a new Supreme Court justice, one of the major issues likely to turn on that choice is the fate of Chevron deference. According to that infamous doctrine, courts must defer to agency’s interpretations of the statutes they administer unless that interpretation is patently unreasonable. In practice, courts h ...