Reference
Timeline: environmental law and the federal courts, 1970–2024
Statutes, cases and appointments appear together in time but describe different public actions. The sequence identifies each event and the source that records it.
Reading across different kinds of events
The sequence brings together environmental statutes, judicial decisions and appointment proceedings. Their dates identify different actions. A statute entry concerns enactment or amendment. A case entry concerns the Court's decision. A nomination entry concerns submission, withdrawal or confirmation. A procedural entry concerns the Senate's handling of nominations. These distinctions matter because events close together in time may have different legal functions and different effects on the public record.
The entries identify the recorded act and link to the reference account that describes it. Case entries concentrate on the legal question and holding. Nomination entries identify the office and the procedural outcome, without characterizing a nominee's views. Senate entries distinguish the scope of each procedural change. The sequence is intended to orient readers to related subjects rather than to grade an administration, a court or a nominee.
Individual dates also mark stages rather than entire proceedings. Submission of a nomination is different from confirmation, and withdrawal is different from an unsuccessful vote. A court's decision is distinct from the earlier filing of a case. The linked accounts supply additional detail where a short entry cannot explain every stage. The selection guide and courts guide explain these institutional differences.
The issue guide organizes the legal subjects separately from chronology. The reading list groups sources by type, offering another route through the same subjects.
In , the National Environmental Policy Act became law, requiring federal agencies to evaluate the environmental effects of their actions, according to Wikipedia’s account of National Environmental Policy Act.
In , Congress adopted Clean Air Act amendments that form part of the statutory framework for federal air-pollution regulation, according to Wikipedia’s account of Clean Air Act.
In , the federal water-pollution statute took its modern form through extensive amendments, according to Wikipedia’s account of Clean Water Act.
In , the Endangered Species Act became law, establishing a framework concerning imperiled species, according to Wikipedia’s account of Endangered Species Act.
In , the Safe Drinking Water Act became law as a federal framework for drinking-water quality, according to Wikipedia’s account of Safe Drinking Water Act.
In , the Supreme Court ordered an injunction against completion of the Tellico Dam under the Endangered Species Act, according to Wikipedia’s account of Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill.
In , the Supreme Court described a regulatory-taking inquiry involving economic impact, investment-backed expectations and the character of government action, according to Wikipedia’s account of Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York City.
In , the Supreme Court set out a framework for deference to permissible agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, according to Wikipedia’s account of Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc..
In , the Supreme Court found the plaintiffs lacked standing because the asserted injury did not satisfy the constitutional requirements, according to Wikipedia’s account of Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife.
In , the Supreme Court established a total-takings test for regulatory action depriving property of economically beneficial use, according to Wikipedia’s account of Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council.
In , the Supreme Court upheld the agency interpretation of statutory harm to include habitat modification that actually kills or injures wildlife, according to Wikipedia’s account of Babbitt v. Sweet Home Chapter of Communities for a Great Oregon.
In , the Supreme Court held that the challenged federal law exceeded Congress’s Commerce Clause authority, according to Wikipedia’s account of United States v. Lopez.
In , the Supreme Court held that residents alleging curtailed recreational use of a polluted river had standing in a citizen-suit dispute, according to Wikipedia’s account of Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services, Inc..
In , the Supreme Court held that the migratory-bird rule exceeded the Clean Water Act’s scope, according to Wikipedia’s account of Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. Army Corps of Engineers.
In , the Supreme Court held that EPA could not consider implementation costs in setting national ambient air-quality standards, according to Wikipedia’s account of Whitman v. American Trucking Ass'ns.
In , a bipartisan group of senators negotiated a compromise on judicial-nomination filibusters and the proposed procedural change, according to Wikipedia’s account of Gang of 14.
In , the Supreme Court upheld application of a federal regulatory scheme to the intrastate activity at issue under the Commerce Clause, according to Wikipedia’s account of Gonzales v. Raich.
In , the Supreme Court held that an economic-development taking satisfied the public-use requirement, according to Wikipedia’s account of Kelo v. City of New London.
In , the Senate confirmed John Roberts as Chief Justice after his earlier nomination to an associate-justice seat, according to Wikipedia’s account of John Roberts Supreme Court nominations.
In , Samuel Alito was nominated to succeed Justice Sandra Day O’Connor on the Supreme Court, according to Wikipedia’s account of Samuel Alito Supreme Court nomination.
In , the Senate confirmed Samuel Alito’s Supreme Court nomination, according to Wikipedia’s account of Samuel Alito Supreme Court nomination.
In , the Supreme Court set aside the judgments in a wetlands-jurisdiction dispute, with a plurality opinion and a separate significant-nexus approach, according to Wikipedia’s account of Rapanos v. United States.
In , the Supreme Court held that greenhouse gases fall within the Clean Air Act’s definition of air pollutants, according to Wikipedia’s account of Massachusetts v. EPA.
In , the Supreme Court rejected a statistical likelihood of members visiting affected land as an adequate basis for standing, according to Wikipedia’s account of Summers v. Earth Island Institute.
In , the Senate confirmed Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court, according to Wikipedia’s account of Sonia Sotomayor Supreme Court nomination.
In , Goodwin Liu was nominated to a vacancy on the Ninth Circuit, according to Wikipedia’s account of Goodwin Liu.
In , the Senate confirmed Elena Kagan as an associate justice of the Supreme Court, according to Wikipedia’s account of Elena Kagan Supreme Court nomination.
In , Caitlin Halligan was nominated to the D.C. Circuit, according to Wikipedia’s account of Caitlin Halligan.
In , Goodwin Liu informed the President that he was withdrawing from consideration for the Ninth Circuit seat, according to Wikipedia’s account of Goodwin Liu.
In , the Supreme Court held that the Clean Air Act displaced the federal common-law claim concerning greenhouse-gas emissions, according to Wikipedia’s account of American Electric Power Co. v. Connecticut.
In , Caitlin Halligan requested withdrawal of her nomination, and the President withdrew it, according to Wikipedia’s account of Caitlin Halligan.
In , the Senate confirmed Sri Srinivasan to the D.C. Circuit, according to Wikipedia’s account of Sri Srinivasan.
In , Robert L. Wilkins was nominated to the D.C. Circuit, according to Wikipedia’s account of Robert L. Wilkins.
In , a Democratic Senate majority changed the cloture precedent for nominations other than those to the Supreme Court, according to Wikipedia’s account of nuclear option.
In , the Senate confirmed Patricia Millett to the D.C. Circuit, according to Wikipedia’s account of Patricia Millett.
In , the Senate confirmed Cornelia Pillard to the D.C. Circuit, according to Wikipedia’s account of Cornelia Pillard.
In , the Senate confirmed Robert L. Wilkins to the D.C. Circuit, according to Wikipedia’s account of Robert L. Wilkins.
In , EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers published the Clean Water Rule addressing the scope of federal water protection, according to Wikipedia’s account of Clean Water Rule.
In , the Supreme Court required EPA to consider costs at the statutory determination that regulation was necessary and appropriate, according to Wikipedia’s account of Michigan v. EPA.
In , Merrick Garland was nominated to the Supreme Court; the nomination received no hearing and later expired, according to Wikipedia’s account of Merrick Garland Supreme Court nomination.
In , a Republican Senate majority extended majority cloture to Supreme Court nominations, according to Wikipedia’s account of nuclear option.
In , the Senate confirmed Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the Supreme Court, according to Wikipedia’s account of Neil Gorsuch Supreme Court nomination.
In , the Supreme Court held that an area must be habitat before it may be designated critical habitat and that the exclusion decision was reviewable, according to Wikipedia’s account of Weyerhaeuser Company v. United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
In , the Supreme Court required a permit for the functional equivalent of a direct discharge from a point source into navigable waters, according to Wikipedia’s account of County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund.
In , the Supreme Court treated the access regulation at issue as a per se taking requiring compensation, according to Wikipedia’s account of Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid.
In , the Supreme Court held that the statutory provision did not authorize EPA’s generation-shifting approach, according to Wikipedia’s account of West Virginia v. EPA.
In , the Supreme Court limited covered wetlands to those having the continuous surface connection described in its holding, according to Wikipedia’s account of Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency.
In , the Supreme Court overruled the agency-deference framework from Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. and required independent judicial judgment about statutory authority, according to Wikipedia’s account of Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo.