Brief of Amici Curiae in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado

INTEREST OF AMICI CURIAE

Amicus curiae Americans for Prosperity Foundation (“AFPF”) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to educating and training Americans to be courageous advocates for the ideas, principles, and policies of a free and open society. Some of those key ideas include the separation of powers and constitutionally limited government. As part of this mission, AFPF appears as amicus curiae before federal and state courts. Amicus curiae Competitive Enterprise Institute (“CEI”) is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., dedicated to promoting the principles of free markets and limited government.

Since 1984, CEI has carried out its mission through policy analysis, commentary, and litigation. This case raises a familiar problem. Too often, federal agencies overstep their authority by substituting their policy preferences for those mandated by Congress in the law. This problem can be exacerbated when a judicial panel erroneously imports atextual policy considerations into a statute, here, the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”). Neither agencies nor Article III courts should be in the business of substituting their policy preferences for those of Congress, as set forth in the text of statutes.