The agency's policy change, he said, "reflects a total schism" in the partnership between Northeast states and federal environmental officials to enforce clean-air laws.

Some changes would weaken existing clean-air laws, enviromentalists say.

But if the parkway cowboy is an anachronism, made obsolete by clean-air laws and congestion, what's next?

Last year, Governor Cuomo proposed a plan that he said would allow the state to comply with the clean-air law.

Some parts of the opinion blamed Congress for writing a vague clean-air law and giving away too much authority.

New York State filed a lawsuit today charging that two power plants near Buffalo violate federal clean-air laws.

Mr Reilly, a veteran conservationist, scored early by helping to push through the first revision of the clean-air law in 13 years.

To solve those problems, cities, states and the federal government create clean-air laws that restrict the amount of pollution that cars can produce.

In 1995 and 1996, the Environmental Protection Agency repeatedly criticized the department's enforcement of clean-air laws on smokestack industry.

His Clear Skies package of clean-air laws is collecting dust on a committee shelf.