CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SAN FRANCISCO : Court Asked to Review Smog Ruling

The federal Environmental Protection Agency has asked the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider its July 1 order that the EPA write a clean-air plan for the Los Angeles region that would go beyond regional smog-fighting measures. EPA attorneys wrote that the 9th Circuit Court should reopen arguments because “the proceeding involves a question of exceptional importance” regarding the division of responsibility among federal, state and local governments under the federal Clean Air Act. The court’s majority opinion also “overlooks that there are two readings of the critical statutory language,” EPA lawyers wrote, contending that the agency should select which interpretation applies because it is responsible for administering the law.