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U.S. EPA denies California waiver and faces lawsuit |
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[UPDATE 2008-01-03] The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has denied a waiver to California to prevent the state from setting strict car emission limits, despite the unanimous opinion of its staff. On 2 January 2008, California and 15 other states sued the federal agency.
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2007-12-21
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On 19 December 2007, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) denied the state of California the waiver required to reduce tailpipe greenhouse gas (GHG) from passenger cars and light trucks by 30% by 2016, starting from 2009. Nearly two years after California had made its original request on 21 December, 2005, the state agency for the first time in 30 years refused a positive answer, arguing that this waiver request is distinct from the 40 others it granted to California before. Key argument: greenhouse gases are global in nature affecting every U.S. state. Separate California standards would therefore not "meet compelling and extraordinary conditions" necessary to get the waiver.
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The EPA decision was also closely linked to the new federal fuel economy standard signed into law by President Bush on 20 December. Stating that the Bush administration is already moving forward with a national solution, the EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson denied California the right to establish a "confusing patchwork of state rules". California, and 19 other states that have already adopted or want to adopt the California rules, argue, however, that the federal rules lack ambitious and comprehensive targets after 2020.
EPA decision "based on politics, not the law"
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Shortly after the denial was announced, it became clear that EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson had overruled the unanimous opinion of his legal and technical staff to block California's attempt to cut GHG emissions. First reported by the Washington Post, California Senator Barbara Boxer confirmed that Johnson ignored his staff warnings that the EPA would lose a possible lawsuit if it denied the waiver: "This is politics at its worst." As EPA administrator, Johnson has the final say on all waiver requests.
Meanwhile, both Senate and the House Committees launched a probe into why Johnson denied the request, demanding to turn over all documents related to the decision. The revelations are likely to be a key focus of congressional hearings early 2008. On 27 December 2007, the EPA agreed to comply with the congressional request for all documents.
UPDATE: California & 15 other states file lawsuit against EPA
On 2 January 2008, California, 15 other U.S. states and five environmental groups* filed a lawsuit against the state agency in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco to overturn its decision. The plaintiffs argue that the EPA Administrator has not offered coherent legal or technical explanation, with California Atttorney General Jerry Brown stating that Johnson's refusal "was shocking in its incoherence and utter failure to provide legal justification for the administrator's unprecedented action." They also challenge the EPA argument that California's GHG law would require less stringent fuel economy standards than the new federal ones of 35 mpg by 2020. On the contrary, to cut GHG emissions from new cars by one third by 2016, cars in California would have to achieve 44 mpg by 2020, a new report by the state's environment agency conclude.
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More information:
› EPA explanatory statement - Waiver Request California, 19 Dec 2007
› TIME Interview Governor Schwarzenegger / CA Air Resources Board, 20 Dec 2007
› NEW: Press Release Governor Schwarzenegger, 2 Jan 2008
 NEW: Technical Report - Comparison AB 1493-CAFE standard (116 KB)
› Read the article "California wins legal battle over car emissions", 13 Dec
* Plaintiffs: Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington; Conservation Law Foundation, Environmental Defense, International Center for Technology Assessment, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club.
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