States’ Request to Curb Car Emissions to Get Second Look
by Matthew Madia, 2/6/2009
The Environmental Protection Agency has officially announced its intention to reconsider California’s request to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. President Barack Obama had directed EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to reconsider the waiver request.
Under California’s pending regulations "carmakers have to show a 30% overall reduction in greenhouse gas emissions on their vehicles by 2016," according to The Los Angeles Times. But the Clean Air Act requires California to seek federal permission before regulating tailpipe emissions. California first asked EPA to approve its plan in December 2005. Bush-era EPA administrator Stephen Johnson rejected the request in December 2007.
According to EPA’s statement:
The Clean Air Act gives EPA the authority to allow California to adopt its own emission standards for motor vehicles due to the seriousness of the state’s air pollution challenges. There is a long-standing history of EPA granting waivers to the state of California.
EPA believes that there are significant issues regarding the agency’s denial of the waiver. The denial was a substantial departure from EPA’s longstanding interpretation of the Clean Air Act’s waiver provisions.
EPA believes that there are significant issues regarding the agency’s denial of the waiver. The denial was a substantial departure from EPA’s longstanding interpretation of the Clean Air Act’s waiver provisions.
EPA is clearly setting itself up with rationale to approve California’s waiver request. But that won’t stop industry lobbyists from fighting back. The auto industry has lodged complaints on two fronts: 1) that the changes required under California’s program would be too costly; and 2) that a single federal standard is preferable to, in the industry’s words, a patchwork of state regulations.
In an opinion column written for a New Jersey paper, Clean Air Watch president Frank O’Donnell rebuts both arguments:
California presented strong evidence to support its contention that the standards were both needed to help check global warming, and technically feasible through a variety of technologies including hybrid, advanced clean diesel and fuel cell engines.
Costs will be offset
The state conceded the standards could add about $1,000 in initial costs to a new vehicle in 2016. But it noted that the overall costs would be more than offset within a few years because consumers would be using less – and paying for less – gasoline.
On the federalism issue, O’Donnell notes:
The law gives California the right to adopt tougher standards, subject to EPA review. New Jersey has the right to adopt California's standards. Contrary to the misleading rhetoric of the auto industry, states do not have the legal right to adopt other standards. The choice is: adopt federal law or adopt California's law.
Indeed, 17 other states representing almost half the U.S. auto market are expected to adopt California’s standards, if EPA approves them.
Image by Flickr user afkatws;
used under a Creative Commons license.
used under a Creative Commons license.
