New Source Review Permitting Improvement Act

The regulation of stationary sources emitting pollutants that may cross state lines is a matter of interstate commerce, firmly within the purview of Congress under Article I, Section 8, Clause 3. The proposed amendment merely clarifies existing definitions within the Clean Air Act, an exercise of legislative discretion that does not exceed the powers granted to the federal government. As argued in Federalist No. 23, the federal government must possess powers commensurate with the objects entrusted to its care; here, the object is the protection of the nation's air quality, which cannot be effe…

This bill, by purporting to clarify what constitutes a 'modification' of a stationary source under the federal Clean Air Act, exceeds the enumerated powers of the federal government. The Constitution grants to Congress only those powers expressly listed, and nothing therein authorizes a general federal police power over air quality or industrial operations within the states. Such matters are reserved to the states by the Tenth Amendment, which leaves to the people and the states all powers not delegated to the United States. The federal government's authority over interstate commerce may touch…

This bill, by clarifying when a physical change or change in operation constitutes a modification under the Clean Air Act, touches upon the federal authority to regulate interstate commerce in air pollution. However, the Constitution grants Congress only enumerated powers, and the Tenth Amendment reserves to the States all powers not delegated. The bill's constitutionality hinges on whether the clarified definitions remain within the legitimate scope of the Commerce Clause, i.e., they address only those stationary sources whose emissions substantially affect interstate commerce. If the clarifi…

This bill operates within the acknowledged sphere of Congress to regulate commerce among the several States. The Clean Air Act, directed at stationary sources whose emissions may cross State lines and affect the public health and commerce of the Nation, rests upon the same principle affirmed in Gibbons v. Ogden: that the power over commerce extends to those regulations which promote the general welfare and are not confined to the mere traffic in goods. Clarifying what constitutes a 'modification' or 'construction' is a necessary and proper exercise of that power, as it defines the reach of a v…