State may sue EPA over clean air law
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday said California will sue the federal government if the state is not allowed to implement its landmark law slashing greenhouse gases from vehicles within six months.
"The clock is ticking
"I just had a conversation with [EPA Administrator] Steve Johnson, and I said we are going to sue him," the governor said. "I put him on notice that the federal government is moving too slow."
Environmental Protection Agency officials countered that they were moving "expeditiously" on California's request. But in a move that provoked immediate criticism, they also said Wednesday that they may link a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on greenhouse gases to California's request. If they do, it could delay the waiver decision yet again.
Under the federal Clean Air Act, California is allowed to pass its own air pollution laws but must first obtain a waiver from the EPA. The state submitted its waiver request in December 2005, after the law was passed.
After California receives permission, other states can follow its lead. Eleven other states have adopted similar tailpipe greenhouse gas laws.
For months, EPA officials had said that they would not grant California's request until the Supreme Court ruled on whether the federal agency is allowed to regulate greenhouse gases as air pollution.
The high court ruled three weeks ago that greenhouse gases are air pollution and that the EPA should regulate them unless they were not found to endanger public health.
William Wehrum, acting head of EPA's Office of Air and Radiation, said in an interview Wednesday that the agency now needed to decide whether California's waiver should be linked to a determination of whether greenhouse gases are an "endangerment."
"That's a pretty fundamental question
California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown said the two were not legally linked and harshly criticized federal officials for considering it.
"They have no legal basis," Brown said. "In good faith they should grant the waiver. The request has been in for almost two years. If they're now going to sabotage the clean air process by pretending they don't know that greenhouse gases are harmful
David Doniger, a lead attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council who defeated the EPA in the Supreme Court decision, agreed.
