WASHINGTON — On Oct. 21, the US Supreme Court agreed to hear three cases regarding the authority of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to steer litigation that challenges its actions away from regional appeals courts to a Washington court that hears regulatory disputes.

In one of the cases, Oklahoma v. EPA, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond filed suit against the agency with the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in March 2023 over the EPA’s rejection of Oklahoma’s “Good Neighbor” plan regarding ozone emissions.

In February, the Tenth Circuit transferred the case to the DC Circuit, leading Drummond to petition the Supreme Court for certiorari on the issue of venue.

The two other cases to be seen by the Supreme Court similarly deal with the issue of venue in regard to the EPA’s actions under the Clean Air Act. The cases will be brought before the Supreme Court early next year.

Drummond released a statement praising the Supreme Court’s decision to hear the cases. Drummond believes Oklahoma’s implementation plan would have complied with a Clean Air Act rule to reduce ozone emissions but was denied because of an “unlawful power grab.”

“Instead of working with Oklahoma to make whatever modifications the EPA claimed were necessary, the Biden Administration chose to burden the state with an unwieldy and costly one-size-fits-all plan,” he said. “The EPA ignored the expertise of Oklahoma’s Department of Environmental Quality, all at the expense of state sovereignty.”