Opinion ID: 775852
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Judicial Review of Agency Interpretation of a Statute

Text: 16 Generally, courts review agency interpretation of a statute under the two-part Chevron test. Chevron, U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Res. Def. Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837 (1984). Under step one of Chevron, the court must decide independently whether Congress has directly spoken to the precise question at issue. Id. at 842, 104 S. Ct. 2778. If the court is unable to conclude that Congress has precisely spoken, it is to defer to anypermissible or reasonable interpretation of the agency. Id.; see also Christopher Schroeder & Robert Glicksman, Chevron, State Farm, and EPA in the Courts of Appeals During the 1990s, 31 Envtl. L. Rep. 10371, 10375-79 (documenting application of Chevron doctrine in EPA cases). The Supreme Court, however, has explicitly limited Chevron's deference to cases in which congressional intent cannot be discerned through the use of the traditional techniques of statutory interpretation. Chem. Mfr. Ass'n v. Natural Res. Def. Council, Inc., 470 U.S. 116, 152 (1985). Ultimately, [t]he judiciary is the final authority on issues of statutory construction and must reject administrative constructions which are contrary to clear congressional intent. Chevron, 467 U.S. at 843 n.9. 17