WASHINGTON, June 7 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that a U.S. agency monitoring truck traffic from Mexico need not evaluate the traffic's impact on the environment.
The unanimous ruling is a major defeat for environmentalists.
Writing for the court, Justice Clarence Thomas said the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration lacks the discretion to prevent cross-border trucking operations, neither the National Environmental Policy Act nor the Clean Air Act require it to evaluate the environmental effects of such traffic.
NEPA normally requires federal agencies to analyze the environmental impact of their proposals and actions with an environmental impact statement, except under special circumstances.
The CAA leaves it states to develop "implementation plans" to comply with national air quality standards, and requires federal agencies to conform to those plans in each state.
The Motor Carrier Safety Administration, with a lifting of the moratorium on Mexican cross-border traffic, said there would be no significant impact on the environment, but did not issue an environmental impact statement.
