California filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for failing to act on the state’s tailpipe emissions waiver request. Earlier this year, Governor Schwarzenegger notified the federal government that a lawsuit would be filed if the EPA continued to delay action on California's request for authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions for cars and light trucks sold in the state. Fourteen other states are expected to join the suit, including Massachusetts, New York, Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Pennsylvania.
Under the Federal Clean Air Act, California has the right to set stricter vehicle emissions standards if state officials obtain a waiver from the EPA. The waiver request was made in response to legislation enacted in California to establish new standards for motor-vehicle greenhouse gas emissions beginning in model year 2009, with the goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions from new vehicles by nearly 30% by model year 2016.
For details, contact Steve McDonald at stevem@sema.org.