Massachusetts, et al. v. Environmental Protection Agency et al.

Decided April 2, 2007. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 05-1120 · 549 U.S. 497 (2007) · Cited 1,227 times

Holding

The Fourth Circuit’s reading of the PSD regulations in an effort to conform them with their NSPS counterparts on “modification” amounted to the invalidation of the PSD regulations, which must comport with the Act’s limits on judicial review of EPA regulations for validity.

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.

• Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife · 504 U.S. 555 (1992)
• Food & Drug Administration v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. · 529 U.S. 120 (2000)
• Chevron U. S. A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 467 U.S. 837 (1984)
• Alfred L. Snapp & Son, Inc. v. Puerto Rico Ex Rel. Barez · 458 U.S. 592 (1982)
• Whitmore Ex Rel. Simmons v. Arkansas · 495 U.S. 149 (1990)
• United States v. Students Challenging Regulatory Agency Procedures (SCRAP) · 412 U.S. 669 (1973)
• Massachusetts v. Mellon · 262 U.S. 447 (1923)
• Allen v. Wright · 468 U.S. 737 (1984)
• Baker v. Carr · 369 U.S. 186 (1962)
• Georgia v. Pennsylvania Railroad · 324 U.S. 439 (1945)
• Warth v. Seldin · 422 U.S. 490 (1975)
• Sierra Club v. Morton · 405 U.S. 727 (1972)
• DaimlerChrysler Corp. v. Cuno · 547 U.S. 332 (2006)
• Securities & Exchange Commission v. Chenery Corp. · 332 U.S. 194 (1947)
• Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Environment · 523 U.S. 83 (1998)
• City of Los Angeles v. Lyons · 461 U.S. 95 (1983)
• Lujan v. National Wildlife Federation · 497 U.S. 871 (1990)
• Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Inc. · 454 U.S. 464 (1982)
• Flast v. Cohen · 392 U.S. 83 (1968)
• Heckler v. Chaney · 470 U.S. 821 (1985)
• Clinton v. Jones · 520 U.S. 681 (1997)
• Alden v. Maine · 527 U.S. 706 (1999)
• Duke Power Co. v. Carolina Environmental Study Group, Inc. · 438 U.S. 59 (1978)
• Pennsylvania Department of Corrections v. Yeskey · 524 U.S. 206 (1998)
• Schlesinger v. Reservists Committee to Stop the War · 418 U.S. 208 (1974)
• Maryland v. Louisiana · 451 U.S. 725 (1981)
• Federal Election Commission v. Akins · 524 U.S. 11 (1998)
• Larson v. Valente · 456 U.S. 228 (1982)
• Asarco Inc. v. Kadish · 490 U.S. 605 (1989)
• United States v. Price · 361 U.S. 304 (1960)

Cited by

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

• Summers v. Earth Island Institute · 555 U.S. 488 (2009)
• United States v. Texas · 599 U.S. 670 (2023)
• West Virginia v. EPA · 597 U.S. 697 (2022)
• Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins · 578 U.S. 330 (2016)
• Armstrong v. Exceptional Child Center, Inc. · 575 U.S. 320 (2015)
• Arizona State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Comm'n · 576 U.S. 787 (2015)
• Murthy v. Missouri · 603 U.S. 43 (2024)
• Biden v. Nebraska · 600 U.S. 477 (2023)
• Sprint Communications Co. v. APCC Services, Inc. · 554 U.S. 269 (2008)
• Federal Communications Commission v. Fox Television Stations, Inc. · 556 U.S. 502 (2009)
• California v. Texas · 593 U.S. 659 (2021)
• Murray v. UBS Securities, LLC · 601 U.S. 23 (2024)

Official text

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

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2007). 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).