Blue States Win Bid to Set Aside Federal Permitting Decision

A coalition of mostly blue states won their bid to vacate a decision about the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality’s ability to regulate.

The ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit sets aside a district court’s February decision that tossed out permitting rules set by CEQ under former President Joe Biden. The states argued that decision was moot because the council had previously canceled the rules on its own.

Although the CEQ rules—which broadly dictate how federal agencies should make permitting decisions—remain off the books, the Eighth Circuit panel’s decision Tuesday leaves the door open for future litigation because the question of CEQ’s authority to regulate could come up again under a different administration.

The states said the the US District Court for the District of North Dakota’s decision was “in tension with” the US Supreme Court findings affirming CEQ’s authority to regulate.

CEQ, along with a group of mostly Republican-led states, argued the lower court decision should stand, partly because its analysis of when federal entities have congressionally authorized rulemaking power is in the public interest.

States involved in the litigation include New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, Washington, Michigan, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Maryland, New Mexico, and Oregon, as is the District of Columbia.

Judges Lavenski Smith, Duane Benton, and Jane Kelly sat on the panel.

The case is Iowa v. Alaska Comm. Action on Toxics, 8th Cir., No. 25-1641, decision issued 7/29/25.