Judge Sends Calif. Ozone Plan Back For Revision

FRESNO (AP) — State and local air pollution districts in California's Central Valley must come up with a new plan to meet ozone emission standards after a federal appeals court ruled that the data used was out of date.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved the plan in 2010. But Earthjustice sued arguing that the plan and emission projections didn't match reality. To measure diesel emissions, the San Joaquin Air Pollution Control District had considered where trucks were registered — not whether they drove through the region.

On Friday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the EPA's decision to use that data was "arbitrary and capricious."

Officials say the agency will need at least two years to rewrite a new plan for reducing the lung-damaging pollutant.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press)