WASHINGTON (AP) — In a victory for environmental groups, a federal appeals court has thrown out two Environmental Protection Agency regulations that loosened requirements for achieving compliance with more protective ozone standards.

In a 2-1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said EPA cannot increase the amount of compliance time by an additional year and cannot revoke ozone requirements for highway projects.

The court said the two EPA regulations implementing the 2008 ozone standards exceed the agency's authority under the Clean Air Act.