The SF Bay region's clean air plan will remain on hold until at least
October, when a panel of federal judges will consider its validity,
the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday.
The decision throws into limbo the summer highway construction season
and is a clear victory for environmentalists, as it means the court
finds enough merit in their case to warrant a stay. Without an air
plan, federal cash cannot flow to new transportation projects.
This is a huge ruling that says the MTC must start following the
law. Federal dollars cannot be used to make air quality worse.
-- David Schonbrunn, director of Transportation Solutions Defense and
Education Fund.