Amy Coney Barrett rejects Sierra Club in first opinion for Supreme Court

BLOOMBERG • March 4, 2021

Justice Amy Coney Barrett issued her first majority opinion for the Supreme Court, a ruling that limits the ability of environmental groups to use the Freedom of Information Act to get government documents. The 7-2 decision is a defeat for the Sierra Club and its allies, a coalition of environmental, business and media interests, in a clash stemming from a proposed Environmental Protection Agency rule governing structures that use water to cool industrial equipment. The group was seeking draft versions of so-called biological opinions issued by two other government agencies analyzing the impact on endangered species.