"WASHINGTON — The retirement of Justice Anthony M. Kennedy from the Supreme Court could significantly reshape environmental law in the decades ahead and potentially make it easier for the Trump administration to roll back Obama-era climate change policies in the coming years, legal experts said.

In his 30 years on the court, Justice Kennedy was frequently a crucial swing vote on major environmental questions. While he tended to be skeptical of expansive federal regulations that intruded on private property rights, he was also willing to break with the court’s conservative wing in favor of more aggressive government action to limit air and water pollution.

Perhaps most notably, in 2007, he sided with the court’s four liberal justices in Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency to rule that the E.P.A. had the authority to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. That case laid the groundwork for many of the Obama administration’s major climate policies, including the Clean Power Plan to cut emissions from coal-fired power plants."

Brad Plumer reports for the New York Times June 28, 2018. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"The Post-Kennedy Supreme Court: What 2 Dissents on Climate Rules Tell Us" (InsideClimate News) [3]

"With Kennedy's Exit, Tide Turns on Clean Water Rule" (Greenwire) [4]

"Supreme Court: Past Is Prologue For Trump Pick On Environmental Issues" (Greenwire) [5]