Statement from Tracey J. Woodruff, PhD, Professor and Director of the UCSF Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment and the UCSF EaRTH Center, on the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the Chevron doctrine:
We are dismayed and appalled by today’s decision from the Supreme Court of the United States to ignore 40 years of precedent and undermine scientists and other experts in regulatory decisionmaking. The Court’s decision to overturn the Chevron doctrine empowers judges to substitute their own views and preferences in place of the expertise of federal regulatory agencies, making it harder for EPA and other federal regulatory agencies to defend critical regulatory protections from legal challenges by industry and industry-aligned states.
This decision is dangerous and further tips the balance in favor of polluting industries and corporate America over people’s health and children’s futures. While we often take EPA to task for underestimating chemical risks and harms, we have always said the best science should guide these decisions. Today’s move by SCOTUS will make it easier for polluting industries to challenge regulatory decisions designed to protect air, water, food, and people’s health. It is shameful and should not be allowed to stand.
