[JURIST] The US DC Circuit Court of Appeals [official site] Friday rejected [PDF ruling] a Bush administration interpretation of EPA requirements that weakened the EPA’s ability to monitor air pollution from industrial sources. The appeals court held that a 2004 EPA settlement with several utility and industry groups ran afoul of previous EPA interpretations of the 2002 Clean Air Act [text]. The current lawsuit, brought by several environmental protection organizations, asserts that the regulations as interpreted by the settlement violate the notice-and-comment requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act [text] by limiting public discussion of monitoring requirements before they are implemented by the EPA and state authorities. AP has more.