Environmental Defense Fund v. Thomas

Appeal from a decision of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (David N. Edelstein, Judge), holding that Section 304 of the Clean Air Act did not confer jurisdiction on the district court to order the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to revise federal standards for the presence in the ambient air of certain pollutants. We hold that the district court does have jurisdiction but believe subsequent actions of the Administrator have begun the required rulemaking.

Reversed and remanded. Judge Mahoney dissents in a separate opinion.

David R. Wooley, Assistant Attorney General, State of New York (Robert Abrams, Attorney General of the State of New York, Peter R. Schiff, Assistant Attorney General of New York, of Counsel), James T. B. Tripp, Environmental Defense Fund, New York, New York (Robert E. Yuhnke, Environmental Defense Fund, Boulder, Colorado, of Counsel), David Hawkins, Natural Resources Defense Council, Washington, District of Columbia, Howard Fox, Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, Washington, District of Columbia, Hubert H. Humphrey III, Attorney General of the State of Minnesota (Ann Seha, Special Assistant Attorney General, State of Minnesota, of Counsel), Jeffrey L. Amestoy, Attorney General of the State of Vermont (J. Wallace Malley, Jr., Assistant Attorney General, State of Vermont, of Counsel), Joseph I. Lieberman, Attorney General of the State of Connecticut (Brian Comerford, Assistant Attorney General, State of Connecticut, of Counsel), Stephen Merrill, Attorney General of the State of New Hampshire, (George Dana Bisbee, Assistant Attorney General, State of New Hampshire, of Counsel), James M. Shannon, Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (Lee Breckenridge, Assistant Attorney General, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, of Counsel), for Plaintiffs-Appellants.

Jacques B. Gelin, Department of Justice, Washington, District of Columbia (Myles E. Flint, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Michael A. McCord, Robert L. Klarquist, Department of Justice, Gerald K. Gleason, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, District of Columbia, of Counsel), for Defendants-Appellees.

Henry V. Nickel, Washington, District of Columbia (Michael L. Teague, F. William Brownell, Norman W. Fichthorn, Hunton & Williams, Washington, District of Columbia, Alfred V.J. Prather, Edwin H. Seeger, Kurt E. Blase, Prather Seeger Doolittle & Farmer, Washington, District of Columbia, Michael S. Devorkin, John Jacob Rieck, Jr., Doar Devorkin & Rieck, New York, New York, Vincent R. Fitz-Patrick, Jr., Margaret Murphy, White & Case, New York, New York, Nancy C. Shea, James R. Bieke, Bruce C. Swartz, Shea & Gardner, Washington, District of Columbia, of Counsel), for Intervenors-Appellees.

Van Graafeiland, Winter and Mahoney, Circuit Judges. Mahoney, Circuit Judge, dissenting.