Train, Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency, et al. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., et al.

Decided April 16, 1975. William Hubbs Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 73-1742 · 421 U.S. 60 (1975) · Cited 542 times

Holding

The EPA's construction of the Act permitting treatment of individual variances from state requirements as 'revisions,' under 110(a)(3), of state implementation plans if they will not interfere with timely attainment and subsequent maintenance of national air quality standards, rather than as 'postponements' under 110(f), was sufficiently reasonable to preclude the Court of Appeals from substituting its judgment for that of the EPA.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 7–1.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Udall v. Tallman · 380 U.S. 1 (1965)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Hancock v. Train · 426 U.S. 167 (1976)
• Adamo Wrecking Co. v. United States · 434 U.S. 275 (1978)
• Union Electric Co. v. Environmental Protection Agency · 427 U.S. 246 (1976)
• Chevron U. S. A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 467 U.S. 837 (1984)
• West Virginia v. EPA · 597 U.S. 697 (2022)
• Heckler v. Chaney · 470 U.S. 821 (1985)
• General Electric Co. v. Gilbert · 429 U.S. 125 (1976)
• Bill Johnson's Restaurants, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board · 461 U.S. 731 (1983)
• Federal Election Commission v. Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee · 454 U.S. 27 (1981)
• Zenith Radio Corp. v. United States · 437 U.S. 443 (1978)
• Chemical Manufacturers Ass'n v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. · 470 U.S. 116 (1985)
• Train v. Colorado Public Interest Research Group, Inc. · 426 U.S. 1 (1976)
• E. I. Du Pont De Nemours & Co. v. Train · 430 U.S. 112 (1977)
• Young v. Community Nutrition Institute · 476 U.S. 974 (1986)
• General Motors Corp. v. United States · 496 U.S. 530 (1990)
• Ohio v. Environmental Protection Agency · 603 U.S. 279 (2024)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1975). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).