CNN Today

Ruling Assures EPA Can Set Clean Air Standards

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: The Clean Air Act withstood a significant challenge today from U.S. Industry. That, after the Supreme Court assured the Environmental Protection Agency that the EPA has the authority to set clean air standards. The story now from senior Washington correspondent Charles Bierbauer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHARLES BIERBAUER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The justices rejected the American Trucking Association claim that Congress gave the Environmental Protection Agency too much leeway to set clean air standards for soot and ozone emissions, but showed too little concern that complying would cost Industry $60 billion a year.

HOWARD FOX, EARTH JUSTICE: The EPA has to set these national standards that honestly tell the public how much the air has to be cleaned up in order to protect their health.

BIERBAUER: Justice Scalia, writing for a unanimous court, said the Clean Air Act:

"...does not delegate legislative power to the EPA in contravention of the Constitution."

Moreover:

"The EPA may not consider implementation costs in setting standards."

Justice Breyer observed that Congress intended to force technology forward:

"industries will be asked to do what seems to be impossible at the present time."

ED WARREN, AMERICAN TRUCKING ASSOCIATION: We all want to reduce pollution, but the question is, how to do it efficiently, how to do it effectively, how to allocate resources sensibly?

BIERBAUER: The justices did find EPA's implementation scheme to be unlawful and even senseless. Justice Scalia:

"...some areas of the country could be required to meet the new, more stringent ozone standard in at most the same time allowed them to meet the old standard."

BIERBAUER: Industry says the health concern over ozone levels is a balancing act.

WARREN: We're really talking about a trade-off between respiratory illness on the one hand, and added skin cancers and cataracts and the like on the other hand.

BIERBAUER: Environmentalists say it's just a question of when.

FOX: What it said was, EPA had to take another look, perhaps allow more time, but that falls far short of stopping the process dead in its tracks which is what Industry was trying to do.

BIERBAUER (on camera): The EPA is required, in any event, to review and revise its air quality standards every five years. The court's ruling gives them clear authority to do that.

Charles Bierbauer, CNN, the Supreme Court.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com