The Supreme Court’s Green Double Standard

An 88-mile rail line in a remote Utah desert was at the center of the Supreme Court’s bracing decision last Thursday in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County. The legal battle over that tiny project has now led to a decision from the Court’s conservative majority that will shrink the role of environmental litigation across the country.

The case can only be described as a walloping loss for environmental groups that depend on litigation to thwart projects and extract concessions. Much less clear, however, is whether the decision is a blow to the environment. There’s much to like in a decision that will reduce the dysfunction arising from the judiciary’s disastrous efforts to police compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act. In the courts’ hands, a law that was meant to be a mild corrective has become a major impediment to desperately needed infrastructure development.