Court Upholds EPA/DOT Interpretation of Transportation Conformity Requirements

摘要

In an October 30, 2014 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the transportation conformity "hot-spot" analysis for a proposed freeway project in Southern California (Natural Resources Defense Council v. U.S. Dept. of Transportation, No. 12-56467 [9th Cir. Oct. 30, 2014]). At issue in the case was whether the hot-spot analysis for the proposed project was required to estimate pollutant increases in the immediate area of the proposed freeway. The appeals court concluded that the statutory provision at issue was ambiguous, and that EPA's and the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT's) interpretation of the regulations permitting the type of analysis performed was entitled to considerable deference.