Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Kentucky, et al. v. Environmental Protection Agency, et al.
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, No. 24-1050, 24-1051, 24-1052, 24-1073, 24-1091 · judgment June 26, 2026
(petition-stage, structural)
About 10.6× the 4.1% base rate. The model weights this up for counsel who has won certiorari before, a D.C. Circuit decision below, and a petition filed soon after the judgment below.
Questions presented
The Clean Air Act allows the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to revise a national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) only after a “thorough review” of its air-quality criteria and the current standard. 42 U.S.C. § 7409(d)(1). But in 2024, EPA used a short-circuited reconsideration process—involving an intentionally narrow review of a few limited studies— to revise the air-quality standards for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) to the most restrictive level ever. Although EPA later disavowed any power to revise NAAQS without a thorough review, the D.C. Circuit rejected that concession and approved an expansive view of EPA’s authority anyway. The questions presented are:
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Whether the Clean Air Act gives EPA the authority to revise NAAQS without conducting a thorough review merely because the revision occurs before the normal, five-year review.
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Whether the Clean Air Act bars EPA from considering the costs and feasibility of revising NAAQS when deciding whether to exercise its discretion to undertake a revision before the normal, five-year review.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Matthew Franklin Kuhn
Office of Attorney General of Kentucky
For respondent
D. John Sauer
Solicitor General
Case
Conference history
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Proceedings
- Aug 28 2026Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due October 2, 2026)