紐時賞析／法規還未確定就封殺！ 美國最高法院大幅限縮環保署權力

Justices’ Rulings Sharply Curtail E.P.A. Authority

美國最高法院大幅限縮環保署權力

A spate of decisions over the past two years by the Supreme Court has significantly impaired the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to limit pollution in the air and water, regulate the use of toxic chemicals and reduce the greenhouse gases that are heating the planet.

美國最高法院過去2年間的一連串判決，讓環保署限制空氣和水汙染、規範有毒化學品使用以及減少讓地球暖化溫室氣體的權力顯著限縮。

The environmental agency has been under fire, the result of a series of cases brought since 2022 by conservative activists who say that EPA regulations have driven up costs for industries ranging from electric utilities to homebuilding. Those arguments have resonated among justices skeptical of government regulation.

保守派活動人士自2022年提起一系列案件，讓環保署一直受到嚴厲批評。這些人士說，環保署的法規推高各行各業成本，從電業到住宅建造。這些論點在對政府管制持懷疑態度的大法官之間產生共鳴。

On Friday, the court ended the use of what is known as the Chevron doctrine, a cornerstone of administrative law for 40 years that said that courts should defer to government agencies to interpret unclear laws. That decision threatens the authority of many federal agencies to regulate the environment and also health care, workplace safety, telecommunications, the financial sector and more.

周五，最高法院終止被稱為「雪佛龍原則」的使用，這是行政法40年來的基礎。該原則說，法院應聽從政府機構詮釋不確定的法律。這個判決威脅許多聯邦機構規範環境的權力，還有醫療保健、職場安全、電信、金融行業等等。

But more remarkable have been several decisions by the court to intervene to stop environmental regulations before they were decided by lower courts or even before they were implemented by the executive branch.

但更值得注意的是，在下級法院判決之前，甚至在行政部門實施之前，最高法院作出幾個介入判決以中止環境法規。

On Thursday, the court said the EPA could not limit smokestack pollution that blows across state borders under a measure known as the “good neighbor rule.” In that case, the court took the surprising step of weighing in while litigation was still pending at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

周四，最高法院表示，環保署不能根據一項名為「睦鄰規定」的措施，限制吹過州界的煙囪汙染。在這起案件，當訴訟仍在哥倫比亞特區聯邦巡迴上訴法院等候判決時，最高法院採取令人吃驚的介入舉動。

The court also acted in an unusually preliminary fashion last year when it struck down a proposed EPA rule known as Waters of the United States that was designed to protect millions of acres of wetlands from pollution, acting before the regulation had even been made final.

最高法院去年還以一種不尋常的先行方式，封殺環保署研擬中一項名為「美國水域」的法規，這項法規是為了保護數百萬英畝溼地免受汙染，最高法院在該法規確定前就採取行動。

Similarly, in a 2022 challenge to an EPA climate proposal known as the Clean Power Plan, the court limited the agency’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, even though that rule had not yet taken effect.

同樣的，最高法院2022年對環保署名為「清潔能源計畫」的氣候提案提出異議，限制環保署規範發電廠溫室氣體排放的能力，即使該規定還沒有生效。

Collectively, those decisions now not only endanger many existing environmental rules but also may prevent future administrations from writing new ones, experts say.

專家說，整體而言，這些判決如今不只危及許多現行環境規定，還可能妨礙未來的政府制定新規定。

“This court has shown an interest in making law in this area and not having the patience to wait for the cases to first come up through the courts,” said Kevin Minoli, a lawyer who worked in the EPA’s office of general counsel from the Clinton through the Trump administrations. “It’s like, we’re going to tell you the answer before you even ask the question.”

曾從柯林頓至川普政府任職環保署法律總顧問辦公室的律師米諾里表示，「這個最高法院已表現出在此一領域制定法律的興趣，而且沒有耐心等待案件先經由各級法院審理。情況就像，我們將告訴你答案，甚至在你問問題之前」。

文／Coral Davenport　譯／周辰陽