The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and environmental advocates have been successful in persuading a federal appeals court in Washington to reverse its July decision - of striking down Bush administration's Clean Air Interstate Rule - and reinstate the CAIR.

The rule was an effort to reduce air pollution from coal-fired power plants - both around the plants themselves, as well as in downwind states where the emissions affected the air quality.

The court had struck down the CAIR in July saying that it suffered from some fundamental flaws", and that the EPA had exceeded its authority in framing the rule, which was more like an emissions-trading system to reduce pollution from power plants.

Giving its decision Tuesday, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, said that having a flawed rule for the time being was a better option than being without any such rule. As per the decision, levels of smog-forming nitrogen oxides should be reduced in 28 eastern states and the District of Columbia January 1 onwards. The subsequent year, levels of sulfur dioxide, leading to the formation of deadly fine soot particles, should also be reduced.

The decision was well-received by the environmentalists, who opine that the new administration can draft stronger controls on its basis. Industry groups too were relieved to know what rules covered their operations at present, and pleased with the fact the original objections of the court were intact.

About the court's decision, Judge Judith W. Rogers, said the elimination of the rule "would have serious adverse implications for public health and the environment," since "the rule has become so intertwined" with the overall structure of current Clean Air Act protections.