Chemical Manufacturers Association et al. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., et al.

Decided February 27, 1985. Byron Raymond White delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 83-1013 · 470 U.S. 116 (1985) · Cited 407 times

Holding

The view of the agency charged with administering the statute is entitled to considerable deference, and EPA's understanding of the statute is sufficiently rational to preclude a court from substituting its judgment for that of EPA.

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.

• E. I. Du Pont De Nemours & Co. v. Train · 430 U.S. 112 (1977)
• Chevron U. S. A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 467 U.S. 837 (1984)
• Environmental Protection Agency v. National Crushed Stone Ass'n · 449 U.S. 64 (1980)
• Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Corp. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 435 U.S. 519 (1978)
• Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill · 437 U.S. 153 (1978)
• Securities & Exchange Commission v. Sloan · 436 U.S. 103 (1978)
• Federal Maritime Commission v. Seatrain Lines, Inc. · 411 U.S. 726 (1973)
• Securities & Exchange Commission v. Chenery Corp. · 332 U.S. 194 (1947)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Bell Aerospace Co. · 416 U.S. 267 (1974)
• Federal Election Commission v. Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee · 454 U.S. 27 (1981)
• Maher v. Roe · 432 U.S. 464 (1977)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Brown · 380 U.S. 278 (1965)
• Train v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 421 U.S. 60 (1975)
• Edmonds v. Compagnie Generale Transatlantique · 443 U.S. 256 (1979)
• United States v. Storer Broadcasting Co. · 351 U.S. 192 (1956)
• Social Security Board v. Nierotko · 327 U.S. 358 (1946)
• Volkswagenwerk Aktiengesellschaft v. Federal Maritime Commission · 390 U.S. 261 (1968)
• Overstreet v. North Shore Corp. · 318 U.S. 125 (1943)
• United States v. Allegheny-Ludlum Steel Corp. · 406 U.S. 742 (1972)
• Federal Trade Commission v. Raladam Co. · 283 U.S. 643 (1931)
• Federal Power Commission v. Texaco Inc. · 377 U.S. 33 (1964)
• Burnet v. Chicago Portrait Co. · 285 U.S. 1 (1932)

Cited by

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

• City of Arlington v. Fed. Commc'ns Comm'n · 569 U.S. 290 (2013)
• Mississippi Power & Light Co. v. Mississippi Ex Rel. Moore · 487 U.S. 354 (1988)
• United States v. Ron Pair Enterprises, Inc. · 489 U.S. 235 (1989)
• Immigration & Naturalization Service v. Cardoza-Fonseca · 480 U.S. 421 (1987)
• Bowen v. Georgetown University Hospital · 488 U.S. 204 (1988)
• K Mart Corp. v. Cartier, Inc. · 486 U.S. 281 (1988)
• Clarke v. Securities Industry Assn. · 479 U.S. 388 (1987)
• Midlantic National Bank v. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection · 474 U.S. 494 (1986)
• United States v. Riverside Bayview Homes, Inc. · 474 U.S. 121 (1985)
• Japan Whaling Ass'n v. American Cetacean Society · 478 U.S. 221 (1986)
• Rapanos v. United States · 547 U.S. 715 (2006)
• Dole v. United Steelworkers · 494 U.S. 26 (1990)
• Young v. Community Nutrition Institute · 476 U.S. 974 (1986)
• Lukhard v. Reed · 481 U.S. 368 (1987)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1985). 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).