Whitman v. American Trucking Ass'ns, Inc.

Whitman v. American Trucking Associations, Inc.
Argued November 7, 2000
Decided February 27, 2001
Full case nameChristine Todd Whitman, Administrator of Environmental Protection Agency, et al.
v.
American Trucking Associations, Inc., et al.
Citations531 U.S. 457 (more)
121 S. Ct. 903; 149 L. Ed. 2d 1; 2001 U.S. LEXIS 1952
ArgumentOral argument
Case history
Prior175 F.3d 1027 (D.C. Cir. 1999), opinion modified on rehearing en banc, 195 F.3d 4 (D.C. Cir. 1999); cert. granted, 529 U.S. 1129, 530 U.S. 1202 (2000).
Holding
(1) The Clean Air Act properly delegated legislative power to the Environmental Protection Agency. (2) The Environmental Protection Agency cannot consider implementation costs in setting primary and secondary national ambient air quality standards.
Court membership
Chief Justice
William Rehnquist
Associate Justices
John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor
Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy
David Souter · Clarence Thomas
Ruth Bader Ginsburg · Stephen Breyer
Case opinions
MajorityScalia, joined by Rehnquist, O'Connor, Thomas, Kennedy, Ginsburg; Stevens, Souter (except part III); Breyer (except part II)
ConcurrenceThomas
ConcurrenceStevens (in part), joined by Souter
ConcurrenceBreyer (in part)
Laws applied
Section 109 of the Clean Air Act (CAA)

Whitman v. American Trucking Associations, Inc., 531 U.S. 457 (2001), was a decision of the United States Supreme Court reviewing a challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency's promulgation of National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) under Administrator Christine Todd Whitman, brought by the American Trucking Association, other private companies, and the states of Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia. The Court considered whether relevant provisions of the Clean Air Act violated the nondelegation doctrine by vesting legislative power, among the core powers of the United States Congress, in the Administrator; and whether the Administrator could weigh implementation costs in setting NAAQS. In rejecting the latter, the Court remarked that Congress does not "hide elephants in mouseholes."