Appeals court upholds EPA's tighter smog and soot standards

By OGJ Editors

WASHINGTON, DC, Mar. 27 --The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Tuesday upheld ambient air quality standards for ozone (smog) and fine particulate matter (soot) finalized by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1997.

Both the oil and auto industries opposed the more stringent new standards, which they said were not cost effective and are expected to bring additional controls in many areas.

But environmental groups and the Bush administration said the court's decision was fair.

"We are gratified that after more than four years of litigation, the court has affirmed these standards, implementation of which will improve the lives of millions of Americans who suffer asthma, bronchitis, and other respiratory illnesses," said Tom Sansonetti, assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division

The court rejected the industries' argument that EPA acted arbitrarily in setting the national ambient air quality standards. In a unanimous decision the three-judge panel found that EPA "engaged in reasoned decision-making" in establishing levels that protect public health and the environment.

What further legal action industry interests may take is not yet known. Trade groups may look to Congress to pass new laws that offer more flexibility than the Clean Air Act, but further court challenges to the existing rule might be even more difficult.

The three-judge panel that rendered the decision initially set the standards aside on constitutional grounds. But last year, the US Supreme Court unanimously rejected the lower court ruling and upheld the validity of the standards. The Supreme Court also unanimously rejected an industry argument that EPA should have based the standards on a cost-benefit analysis rather than on the impact of pollution on public health, according to Frank O'Donnell of Clean Air Trust.

The Supreme Court then returned the case to the appeals court for any further action. The appeals court accepted a new industry challenge to revisit the standards on the grounds that they were arbitrary and capricious. But the appeals court ultimately rejected that legal argument in its latest decision.

O'Donnell noted that EPA still must clear up several issues related to the ozone standard before it can begin enforcing it, but there is now no legal impediment to moving forward.

"The court has upheld the bedrock of the Clean Air Act. It is time for EPA to devote its energies to enforcing the law," said O'Donnell.