The court ruled that the EPA had overstepped its legal regulatory bounds by imposing the new standards, and that such rules had to be passed by Congress. The same court upheld its own decision in October 1999, rejecting an EPA appeal. The Department of Justice has filed a petition to have the case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, but a decision on whether to hear the case will take some time. He said the national average ozone level increased by 5 percent in 1998. Also, in recent summers, the agency has seen increases in the number of times air quality exceeded national standards in certain cities and national parks.
Most environmentalists agree that better standards for ozone and particulate matter are needed.
On the other hand, the Justice Department has just announced settlement of a major Clean Air Act action against a Florida utility that the will prevent tens of thousands of tons of air pollution from entering the atmosphere each year. The suit charged that the utility's aging power plants made major upgrades without installing equipment required to control smog, acid rain, and soot.