Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling expected to have sweeping impact across federal agencies, including the Department of Transportation. The decision, in a case called Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, gives judges more say in whether agencies are meeting the letter of the law. Under the previous “Chevron doctrine,” judges deferred to the expertise of federal rule makers as they interpreted laws to create rules and regulations. Now, judges will have more authority to interpret whether the rules federal agencies create match the law. That could provide a window of opportunity for those seeking to challenge a wide range of rules across the federal government, including transportation rules like a recent EPA rule that would force a faster transition to electric vehicle production.
EPA
Our Built and Natural Environments: A Technical Review of the Interactions Among Land Use, Transportation, and Environmental Quality (EPA, 2013)
The EPA’s Office of Sustainable Communities Smart Growth Program offers this comprehensive review on how the built environment – the way we build our cities and towns – directly affects our environment and public health. It provides evidence that certain kinds of land use and transportation strategies – where and how we build our communities – can reduce the environmental and human health impacts of development.
Disagreement over the environmental impacts of the Bayonne Bridge project
Two federal agencies, the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, do not agree on the assessment of the environmental impacts of raising the Bayonne Bridge between Bayonne, NJ, and Staten Island, NY. The disagreement primarily concerns the impacts on air quality and the resulting effects on the local communities.
Infrastructure Financing Options for Transit-Oriented Development (EPA Office of Sustainable Communities Smart Growth Program, 2013)
A new report from the EPA Office of Sustainable Communities Smart Growth Program provides information about funding mechanisms and strategies that communities can use to provide innovative financing options for transit oriented development.
From US EPA, other freight resources
SmartWay Transport is an innovative collaboration between the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the freight sector designed to improve energy efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions, and improve energy security. Developed …