"Federal appeals court judges appeared skeptical today about U.S. EPA's argument that it is required under the Clean Air Act to use a less stringent implementation regime for fine particulates than it is for more coarse -- and less dangerous -- particles."

"The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is considering the legality of EPA's rules for implementation limits on air pollution from power plants, boilers and car tailpipes.

EPA is considering new standards for fine particulate matter, or PM 2.5, but the case before the court focuses on implementation of the existing standard.

At least one judge, David Tatel, was highly skeptical of EPA's argument, saying it made little sense that the agency is stricter about enforcing the coarse particulate matter standard even though fine particulate matter is a greater public health concern."

Lawrence Hurley reports for Greenwire October 17, 2012. [2]