Two Construction Cases Before High Court.

The Supreme Court in Washington will wrestle with two important construction cases during the 2003 term, which began October 6, 2003. One case addresses construction permitting rules under the Clean Air Act and the other deals with a provision in the Americans With Disabilities Act. EPA has delegated authority to some states under the clean air law to make decisions about granting construction permits, including determining the best available control technology for reducing emissions for new or modified major pollutant-emitting facilities. EPA did not agree and issued a stop-construction order, arguing that the generator should not be built without new state-of-the-art technology. Another case addressing federalism issues is Tennessee v. Lane. When the case is argued in January, the justices will look at an ADA provision that requires public services, programs or activities to be accessible to persons with disabilities.