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Reports that New York City, in an effort to reduce harmful emissions while raising the fuel economy of its huge fleet of vehicles, is set to impose strict environmental standards on cars and vans it buys, and to require that diesel trucks and buses be modified. Outlook for the City Council to approve a wide-ranging package of environmental bills intended to reduce tailpipe emissions; How the additional costs of using clean fuel and modifying existing engines with filters will be offset by savings in fuel consumption and lower health care costs; Implications for the city; Other changes, including antipollution devices for school buses; The city's focus on cleaning up diesel engines that have been identified as major sources of pollution.

Reports that a court-appointed monitor told a federal judge that officials of New York City's Department of Environmental Protection tried to impede investigations of possible violations of federal health, safety and environmental laws in regards to the city's water supply. Charges that one employee who voiced concerns about equipment and emergency response procedures was ordered to leave a site as inspectors were arriving to conduct interviews about compliance; Other examples of alleged obstruction by the agency; Comments from acting commissioner, David B. Tweedy on the need for an open culture in the agency.