Case Summary Citation
690 F.3d 670, 2012 WL 3264558, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 16898 (5th Cir. Aug. 13, 2012)
Abstract
In Texas v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated an Environmental Protection Agency rule disapproving Texas’s State Implementation Plan for compliance with National Ambient Air Quality Standards under the Clean Air Act. The court emphasized the importance of the cooperative federalism model embodied in the Clean Air Act, wherein the Environmental Protection Agency sets air quality standards and each state determines how it will meet those standards. The court held that the agency acted arbitrarily and capriciously in disapproving the plan because disapproval was not based on enforceable statutory requirements of the Clean Air Act.