Essay: Repealing Environmental Law’s Magna Carta Amidst the Devolution of Environmental Law 

The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County fits a familiar pattern: environmental plaintiffs once again lost under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). But this ruling stands out. Not only does it mark the eighteenth consecutive defeat for environmentalists in NEPA cases before the Court, it also signals a deeper shift. Together with a string of recent decisions weakening the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and now NEPA itself, Seven County points to an accelerating unraveling of U.S. environmental law. In an essay for the Texas Law Review, Professor Richard Lazarus examines the decision’s immediate impact on NEPA, situates it within the Court’s broader environmental jurisprudence, and considers its implications for the future of environmental protection.