Feds Appeal Clean Air Ruling

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Clinton administration, thwarted by a court decision, has taken the first step to reviving its controversial smog and soot clear air rules.

The Justice Department on June 28 petitioned a full appeals court to reconsider a May 14 decision that overturned tougher air standards issued by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1997.

In May, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said EPA lacked authority to impose the tougher smog standards and had improperly issued new standards for soot.

The court action came in a lawsuit filed by some of the country's most powerful business interests, including truck-ing, auto, chemical and oil industries. It sent shock waves through the administration and the environmental community.

The full appeals court must now consider whether to uphold the panel's decision or reverse it. The administration may appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, if necessary, department officials said.

EPA Administrator Carol Browner, who promised an appeal, said she was gratified by the Justice Department’s action to try to reverse "one of the most bizarre and extreme decisions in the annals of environmental jurisprudence."

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