ELR Citation: ELR 20296
No(s). 98-1561 (D.C. Cir. Jan 4, 2000)

The court holds that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) exceeded its statutory authority in interpreting the Clean Air Act (CAA) reformulated gasoline's (RFG's) opt-in provision to allow the RFG program to apply to EPA-classified "submarginal" and "incomplete data" ozone areas. The RFG opt-in provision allows a state to demand an EPA ban on the sale of non-RFG in specified areas. According to an EPA rule, areas with design values under the attainment standard but missing certain data are designated submarginal and must comply with the RFG provision. Similarly, the rule requires areas designated nonattainment under portions of previous CAA standards to remain so classified and, thus, comply with the RFG opt-in provision, because of incomplete data. The court first holds that Congress explicitly limited the RFG program to areas classified as marginal, moderate, serious, and severe. Acting within a universe where nonattainment and the four categories overlap but are distinct, Congress chose the four categories as the criteria for the RFG opt-in provision. The court next holds that the normal assumption that Congress is aware of what it is doing is sound here. The divergence between nonattainment and design value is the direct product of distinctive definitions explicitly adopted by Congress.

Counsel for Petitioners
Michael F. McBride
LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae
1875 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington DC 20009
(202) 986-8000

Counsel for Respondents
Mary F. Edgar
Environment and Natural Resources Division
U.S. Department of Justice, Washington DC 20530
(202) 514-2000

Before Silberman and Randolph, JJ.