California and 15 other states sued the Bush administration Wednesday, seeking to overturn a federal decision last month rejecting the state's bid to curb greenhouse gases from cars and trucks.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, marks a new round in an epic five-year struggle between California and the federal government over whether states have the power to regulate carbon dioxide and other pollutants that cause global warming.
The controversy also spilled into Congress, as Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Beverly Hills) prepared to hold hearings on whether the White House and automakers influenced the Environmental Protection Agency's decision, which was required to be based on scientific and legal grounds.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who chairs the appropriations subcommittee that oversees the agency's funding, on Monday called on the EPA's inspector general to "immediately open an investigation. . . . The thought has occurred that this was a political decision rather than an environmental decision and that cannot be countenanced."
Under the federal Clean Air Act, California is allowed to enact stricter air pollution laws than the federal government as long as the state is given a waiver from the EPA. Waivers have been routinely granted in roughly 50 cases during the last three decades, allowing the state to lead the way in catalytic converters, unleaded gasoline and other areas.
But in a two-page Dec. 19 letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson denied a waiver for the state's landmark 2002 law, which seeks to cut greenhouse gas emissions from new vehicles by 30% over the next eight years.
Climate change is a global issue that "extends far beyond the borders of California," Johnson wrote, adding that new fuel economy standards signed into law last month should lower greenhouse emissions beyond what California proposed.
Schwarzenegger, California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown and other state officials were joined by five national environmental groups in the lawsuit.
The governor called the EPA decision "unconscionable" in a statement released Wednesday.
"They are ignoring the will of millions of people who want their government to take action in the fight against global warming," Schwarzenegger said.
Brown, in an interview, noted that Johnson had reportedly ignored his own legal and technical staff's recommendations to grant the waiver.
