Full Court Upholds Rejection
Of Extreme Clean Air Rules

WASHINGTON —(AP)— A federal court last Friday reaffirmed a decision blocking the Environmental Protection Agency from imposing tougher air pollution controls on smog and soot.

In a split ruling, the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected the government's appeal and kept in place a decision in May by a three-judge panel from the court overturning the new pollution regulations imposed in 1997.

Clinton administration officials said the Justice Department is expected to take the case to the Supreme Court with hopes of a decision by next summer.

``While the appeal process moves forward, we will continue to pursue all available actions to secure cleaner air for the American people,'' EPA Administrator Carol Browner said in a statement.

President Clinton in 1997 directed the EPA to issue the tougher air rules, which require states to meet more stringent reductions in smog-causing ozone and in microscopic soot.

The smog and soot regulations were among the most controversial ever issued by Browner and drew strong opposition from business and industry groups. Environmental activists argued the more stringent controls on soot and smog were needed to protect children and people with respiratory ailments.

But in May, a three-judge panel of the appeals court decided two-to-one to overturn the regulation, saying the EPA had failed to justify the pollution levels it selected. The panel also said the soot rule was an ``unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority'' under the Clean Air Act.

On Friday, five judges on the full 11-member appeals court supported the EPA, while four upheld the lower court decision, and two did not take part. A majority of the full court was needed to approve the appeal.

Industry groups, which had filed the lawsuit challenging the regulations, applauded the decision by the full court.

``It's a victory for all businesses and a blow to the EPA,'' said Tom Donohue, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. ``Once again the court agreed with American business that the EPA standards were pulled out of thin air.''

Browner said that while she was ``disappointed'' by the full appeals court decision, ``we are encouraged that five of the nine judges agreed with the EPA argument.''

The agency intends to ask the Justice Department to take the case to the Supreme Court as quickly as possible, with hopes that it could be heard during the court's spring session next year, agency officials said.

The revised air standards imposed by the EPA in 1997 limited ozone, an essential part of smog, to .08 parts per million, instead of .12 parts per million under the previous requirement. For the first time they also required that states regulate microscopic particulates, or soot, from power plants, cars and other sources down to 2.5 microns, or 28 times smaller than the width of a human hair.

Business groups waged an intense battle against the regulation before they were issued in 1997, arguing they were too costly and not grounded in adequate science. Later, a broad cross-section of groups representing the trucking, utility, chemical, oil and auto industries, as well as small businesses, challenged the rules in a lawsuit. Three states — Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia — also joined the suit.

Recently, Browner announced the EPA was reimposing the old ozone standard while the litigation proceeds on the new standard.