American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce v. Nishida

American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce and Michigan Oil and Gas Association filed a lawsuit in the federal district court for the Western District of Michigan challenging the constitutionality of provision of the Inflation Reduction Act that imposed the waste emissions charge, which the plaintiffs referred to as a “Methane Tax.” The plaintiffs contended that the provision did not provide an “intelligible principle” for applying a “regulatory compliance exemption” from the charge. The plaintiffs further asserted that the provision constituted an unlawful delegation of legislative power. In addition, the plaintiffs claimed that the waste emissions charge violated the Constitution’s Export Clause to the extent it applied to liquefied natural gas export facilities because it was “in effect” a tax on exports.