ELR Citation: ELR 20627
No(s). 73-2038 (2d Cir. Jul 1, 1974)

Petitioners challenge EPA's approval of those portions of the New York Implementation Plan which concern transportation controls for New York City as being illegal under the requirements of the Clean Air Act. Applying the arbitrary and capricious standard of review, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals holds that EPA's decision to allow New York to delay submission of detailed regulations to implement transportation controls and to allow the city not to limit mass transit fares or ration gasoline supplies was a valid exercise of discretion. But the Agency's assumption of a one-to-one relationship between the supply of parking spaces and vehicle traffic, its failure to require assurances of the state's commitment to provide sufficient funds and personnel for carrying out the plan its failure to totally ban taxi cruising are all found to indicate inadequate compliance with the statute and are remanded for further consideration.

Counsel for Petitioners
Anthony Z. Roisman
Berlin, Roisman & Kessler
1712 N Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036

David G. Hawkins
Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.
15 West 44th Street
New York, NY 10036

Counsel for Respondents
Lloyd S. Guerci
Environmental Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20460

Wallace H. Johnson Asst. Attorney General
Raymond N. Zagone
Department of Justice
Washington, DC 20530

Louis J. Lefkowitz Attorney General
James P. Corcoran
Irving Galt
Philip Weinberg Asst. Attorneys General
South Mall
Albany, NY 12225