Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation v. Environmental Protection Agency et al.

Decided January 21, 2004. Ruth Bader Ginsburg delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 02-658 · 540 U.S. 461 (2004) · Cited 538 times

Holding

CAA authorizes EPA to stop construction of a major pollutant emitting facility permitted by a state authority when EPA finds that an authority’s BACT determination is unreasonable in light of 42 U.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 5–4.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Chevron U. S. A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 467 U.S. 837 (1984)
• Union Electric Co. v. Environmental Protection Agency · 427 U.S. 246 (1976)
• Alden v. Maine · 527 U.S. 706 (1999)
• New York v. United States · 505 U.S. 144 (1992)
• King v. St. Vincent's Hospital · 502 U.S. 215 (1991)
• Skidmore v. Swift & Co. · 323 U.S. 134 (1944)
• Bennett v. Spear · 520 U.S. 154 (1997)
• Montana v. United States · 440 U.S. 147 (1979)
• United States v. Mead Corp. · 533 U.S. 218 (2001)
• Bowman Transportation, Inc. v. Arkansas-Best Freight System, Inc. · 419 U.S. 281 (1974)
• Duncan v. Walker · 533 U.S. 167 (2001)
• Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 435 U.S. 519 (1978)
• Christensen v. Harris County · 529 U.S. 576 (2000)
• Whitman v. American Trucking Assns., Inc. · 531 U.S. 457 (2001)
• Walz v. Tax Comm'n of City of New York · 397 U.S. 664 (1970)
• TRW Inc. v. Andrews · 534 U.S. 19 (2001)
• Hodel v. Virginia Surface Mining & Reclamation Assn., Inc. · 452 U.S. 264 (1981)
• Bragdon v. Abbott · 524 U.S. 624 (1998)
• Idaho v. Coeur D'Alene Tribe of Idaho · 521 U.S. 261 (1997)
• Gregory v. Ashcroft · 501 U.S. 452 (1991)
• Wilder v. Virginia Hospital Assn. · 496 U.S. 498 (1990)
• Barnhart v. Walton · 535 U.S. 212 (2002)
• Plaut v. Spendthrift Farm, Inc. · 514 U.S. 211 (1995)
• United States v. Summerlin · 310 U.S. 414 (1940)
• Utah Power & Light Co. v. United States · 243 U.S. 389 (1917)
• North Haven Board of Education v. Bell · 456 U.S. 512 (1982)
• Washington State Department of Social & Health Services v. Guardianship Estate of Keffeler · 537 U.S. 371 (2003)
• Alabama v. King & Boozer · 314 U.S. 1 (1941)
• Campbell v. United States · 365 U.S. 85 (1961)
• Panhandle Oil Co. v. Mississippi Ex Rel. Knox · 277 U.S. 218 (1928)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Schaffer Ex Rel. Schaffer v. Weast · 546 U.S. 49 (2005)
• Federal Express Corp. v. Holowecki · 552 U.S. 389 (2008)
• Mellouli v. Lynch · 575 U.S. 798 (2015)
• Entergy Corp. v. Riverkeeper, Inc. · 556 U.S. 208 (2009)
• West Virginia v. EPA · 597 U.S. 697 (2022)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2004). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).