Also known as:emissions · emit · emitted · emitting
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
1
A discharge or release of a substance or energy from a source.
2
The formal issuance of bills of credit or other currency instruments by a governmental authority.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
Sense 1
1
Sense 1
A discharge or release of a substance or energy from a source.
Sources & Authorities· 1 primary source
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Dictionaries
Constitution
Examples5
EPA Vehicle Emissions Rule
Massachusetts petitions for review after the EPA denies a rulemaking petition seeking limits on greenhouse gas emissions from new motor vehicles. The Court holds that the Clean Air Act authorizes the agency to regulate such emissions and that Massachusetts has standing to challenge the denial.
Massachusetts, et al. v. Environmental Protection Agency, et al.549 U.S. 497, 127 S. Ct. 1438, 167 L. Ed. 2d 248 (2007)
Floodplain Ordinance Challenge
A church whose land is rendered unusable by a county flood-control ordinance sues for just compensation. The temporary regulatory restriction on development is treated as a taking even though the ordinance addresses risks from upstream emissions and runoff.
Frequently Asked5
What must a plaintiff show to establish standing in a suit challenging EPA emission regulations?+
A state plaintiff must demonstrate concrete injury from the emissions, causation traceable to the agency's failure to regulate, and redressability through a favorable judicial order. Massachusetts satisfied these elements by showing harm to its coastal property from rising sea levels linked to unregulated greenhouse gases.
Supporting sources
When does a temporary regulatory restriction on land use become a compensable taking?+
A temporary restriction that denies all economically viable use of property constitutes a taking for the period it is in effect. The church's inability to rebuild after a flood-control ordinance triggered compensation even though the restriction addressed risks including upstream emissions.
Supporting sources
Sense 2
2
Sense 2
The formal issuance of bills of credit or other currency instruments by a governmental authority.
Sources & Authorities· 1 primary source
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Dictionaries
Constitution
Examples1
State Currency Issuance Attempt
The legislature of State X enacts a statute directing the state treasury to print and distribute paper notes denominated in dollars and declared legal tender for all debts. A creditor refuses the notes and demands gold coin instead. The creditor prevails because the statute constitutes an emission of bills of credit forbidden to states.
Frequently Asked1
Does the constitutional prohibition on state emission of bills of credit extend to modern electronic currency?+
The prohibition targets state-issued paper instruments intended to circulate as money. Electronic systems operated by private parties or the federal government fall outside the clause because they are not state emissions of bills of credit.
First English Evangelical Lutheran Church of Glendale v. County of Los Angeles482 U.S. 304, 107 S.Ct. 2378, 96 L.Ed.2d 250
Power Plant Emission Limits
West Virginia challenges an EPA rule that effectively requires existing coal-fired plants to shift generation to natural gas or renewables to reduce carbon emissions. The Court holds that the major-questions doctrine bars the agency from imposing such a transformative regulatory program without clear congressional authorization.
West Virginia v. EPA597 U.S. ___, 142 S. Ct. 2587 (2022)
Citizen Suit Standing Dispute
An environmental group sues a company for failing to file required reports on toxic chemical emissions and storage. The Court dismisses the action for lack of redressability because the requested civil penalties would not remedy the group's informational injury.
Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Environment523 U.S. 83, 90, 118 S. Ct. 1003, 1010, 140 L. Ed. 2d 210 (1998)
Permit Violation Enforcement
Friends of the Earth sues a wastewater treatment plant for repeated violations of its Clean Water Act permit that allow pollutant emissions into a river. The Court holds that the plaintiffs' ongoing concern about the river's condition supplies standing even after the defendant has come into compliance.
Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Environmental Services (TOC), Inc.528 U.S. 167, 189 (2000)
Under the major-questions doctrine, when may the EPA impose emission limits that shift energy generation?+
The EPA may not impose generation-shifting requirements that effectively restructure the energy sector without clear statutory authorization. Such transformative programs raise major questions that Congress must address explicitly.
Supporting sources
Does incurring investigation costs before filing a citizen suit create Article III standing?+
No. Costs incurred solely to gather information for litigation are insufficient to establish standing when the underlying claim for penalties does not redress the plaintiff's injury.
Supporting sources
Can a citizen group maintain standing after a defendant ceases permit violations?+
Yes. Ongoing reasonable concern about the effects of past and possible future emissions on a waterway supplies standing even after the defendant achieves compliance.
Supporting sources
tomography indicates that the metabolic rate for glucose in the cerebral cortex is greatly reduced in persistent vegetative state patients, to a degree incompatible with consciousness."…
emissions
from factory); Mugler v. Kansas , 123 U. S. 623 (1887) (intoxicating liquors); see also Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York City , 438 U. S. 104, 145 (1978) (REHNQUIST, J.,…
emissions
and storage information that petitioner should have filed, and that respondent needed for its own purposes. See Brief for Respondent 37-38. The recovery of such expenses unrelated to…
TortsNegligence · The duty question, including failure to act, unforeseeable plaintiffs, and obligations to control the conduct of third partiesUBEFoundational