WASHINGTON - The United States Supreme Court has upheld the method the federal government sets clean-air standards, voting down industry arguments that officials must balance compliance costs against the health benefits of cleaner air.

A major boost for the federal Clean Air Act, the ruling states the law does not require government to consider the financial cost of reducing harmful emmissons when it sets air quality standards.

Industry arguments that the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) had taken too much lawmaking power from Congress when it set tougher standards for ozone and soot in 1979 were turned down by the justices.

But at the same time, the court ordered the EPA to reconsider the standards it set for ozone. The justices stated the agency's interpretation of a section of the clean air act was unreasonable.

On this issue, the justices ruled against the EPA's inplementation of revised ozone standards in areas where ozone levels exceed the maximum allowable amount.