"California is special. It's the only state in the country that can set tailpipe standards separate from federal standards," she said. "Everything depends on that waiver."
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who broke with President Bush by endorsing California's Democratic-sponsored emissions law, wrote the president and EPA a year ago asking them to grant the state's request to implement its own law.
The governor noted that California's emissions standards would begin with 2009 vehicles and cut global warming emissions nearly 30% by model year 2016.
An EPA spokeswoman, Jennifer Wood, said Monday that the agency had been reviewing the complex issues in the waiver request and would soon solicit public comments and hold hearings.
Schwarzenegger issued a statement Monday saying he was "encouraged" by the court decision.
"We expect the U.S. EPA to move quickly now in granting our request for a waiver, which will allow California and ... other states that have adopted our standards to set tougher vehicle emissions levels."
But because global warming is not just a California problem, its argument for special status might not work this time, some experts said. Environmental attorneys and legislators said Monday, however, that certain states do have a special problem with global warming, particularly California.
David Bookbinder of the Sierra Club, one of the lead attorneys on the Supreme Court case, and former Assemblywoman Fran Pavley, author of California's tailpipe legislation, said that because the Sierra Nevada snowpack, which provides crucial drinking water to Californians, is thinning and because warmer summer temperatures could increase the state's still-high smog levels, California's plight is unique.
The state also faces a challenge from a lawsuit by the auto industry in a federal district court in Fresno. The judge in that case had postponed a decision until the Supreme Court ruled. Deputy state Atty. Gen. Ellen Peter, who is supervising the case, said the state will now seek a conference with the judge to assess the effect of the decision.
Spokesmen for the auto industry did not comment on the lawsuits it has filed in California and other states Monday, saying only that they thought federal regulations would work better.
"The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers believes that there needs to be a national, federal, economy-wide approach to addressing greenhouse gases," Dave McCurdy, president and chief executive officer of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, said in a statement.
But Vickie Patton, senior attorney with Environmental Defense, one of the petitioners in the Supreme Court case, said the ruling enhances California's chances and reinforces its pioneer status in setting standards.
"Today the highest court in the land put the full faith and credit of federal law behind California's extraordinary leadership," she said.
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janet.wilson@latimes.com
tim.reiterman@latimes.com
