Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Ass'n v. Environmental Protection Agency (II)

No. 78-1794 (D.C. Cir. August 3, 1979)

ELR Digest

The court denies a petition for review of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator's waiver of federal preemption of California regulations establishing an optional 100,000-mile procedure for manufacturer certification of new vehicle compliance with state NO_x emission standards. The court rules that the Administrator correctly rejected petitioner's claim that the regulations will have anti-competitive consequences. Moreover, petitioner has not shown that the Administrator ignored any evidence that the optional certification procedure is technologically infeasible. The court therefore declines to vacate the waiver order because petitioner has failed to show that it was arbitrary or not in accordance with the statutory requirements.

The full text of this opinion is available from ELR (10 pp. $1.25, ELR Order No. C-1176).

Counsel for Petitioner
Mark R. Joelson, Marc L. Fleischaker, Lawrence P. Postol
Arent, Fox, Kintner, Plotkin & Kahn
1815 H St. NW, Washington DC 20006
(202) 857-6000

Cosunsel for Respondent
James McNab III, Bruce I. Bertelsen; Joan Z. Bernstein, General Counsel; Gerald K. Gleason
Environmental Protection Agency, Washington DC 20460
(202) 755-2511

David Dearing, Sanford Sagalkin; James W. Moorman, Ass't Attorney General; Angus Macbeth, Lloyd Guerci
Land and Natural Resources Division
Department of Justice, Washington DC 20530
(202) 633-2654

Counsel for Intervenor State of California
Joel S. Moskowitz, Deputy Attorney General
State Capitol, Sacramento CA 95814
(916) 445-2256

MacKinnon, J., joined by Wright, C.J. & Robb, J.

[OPINION OMITTED BY PUBLISHER IN ORIGINAL SOURCE]