California Governor Schwarzenegger Tells U.S. EPA of Inevitable Lawsuit on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Waiver

06/13/2007 -- California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today notified the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that California will file a lawsuit against the federal government six months and one day after the required notice was originally sent on April 26, 2007. (see letter below)

Last Friday, U.S. EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson indicated to the U.S. House of Representatives Special Committee on Global Warming that he will wait until late next year to decide on whether to issue regulations controlling emissions from vehicles.

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By announcing the EPA's intention to not act on California's waiver until late next year, the U.S. EPA is preventing California and other states from taking action to reduce greenhouse gases. Eleven other states have adopted the California standards as their own and six more are now in the process. The group of states makes up about one-third of all US auto sales.

Under the Federal Clean Air Act, California has the right to set its own vehicle emission standards, and other states have the right to adopt the California standards as their own, upon receipt of a waiver from U.S. EPA. The Federal agency is obligated to provide California a waiver unless certain conditions are not met. The eleven other states that have adopted California's vehicle emissions standards include: Vermont, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Washington and Oregon.

On December 21, 2005, the California Air Resources Board (ARB) requested a waiver of federal preemption of California's Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards. The waiver would allow California to enact emissions standards to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles. The waiver was requested after the ARB developed regulations based on a 2002 California law.

In April, the U.S. Supreme Court issued ruling saying the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to regulate greenhouse gases.

In letters sent on April 10, 2006 and October 24, 2006 to President Bush, the Governor reiterated the urgency of approving California's request to address global warming.

The Governor today sent the following letter to U.S. EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson:

June 13, 2007

The Honorable Stephen L. Johnson
Administrator
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20460

RE: Regulations to Control Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Motor Vehicles; Request for Waiver of Preemption Under Clean Air Act Section 209(b), DOCKET ID EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-0173

Dear Mr. Administrator,

Nearly eighteen months ago, the State of California requested a federal preemption waiver for California’s motor vehicle greenhouse gas emissions standards. Last Friday, you told the U.S. House of Representatives Special Committee on Global Warming that you will wait until late next year to decide on whether to issue regulations controlling emissions from vehicles. More recently still, the U.S. Department of Transportation defended the fact that department officials are contacting members of Congress and urging them to oppose our efforts to fight global climate change. Under your time period, California will have waited about three years for a decision that has been made in our favor more than forty times in the past. By that time, especially given a federal agency’s active opposition to our waiver, our respective governments will be embroiled in a lawsuit over these regulations.

We provided 180-day notice on April 26, 2007, of our intent to sue under the Clean Air Act and Administrative Procedure Act, which provide mechanisms for compelling delayed agency action. However, we had frankly held out hope that this dispute would be resolved without the time and expense of a lengthy court battle. Given your comments in front of the Special Committee and the work of the U.S. Department of Transportation, a lawsuit on the 181st day now appears to be inevitable.

The effects of climate change in California and all over the world are not theoretical science – they are already happening. We cannot afford to go any longer without efforts to turn the tide. Scientific consensus indicates climate change’s impact on every aspect of our daily lives. Let me give you one alarming example: California’s snowpack – the primary source of drinking water for two-thirds of Californians – will be reduced by up to 40 percent over the next few decades.

I ask you act immediately on California’s longstanding request for a federal preemption waiver for California’s motor vehicle greenhouse gas emissions standards waiver request. It is the right thing to do. It is urgent. And it is the law.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is obligated under the federal Clean Air Act to grant in a reasonable time period our request for action. If the EPA does not act on California’s waiver request by October 22, 2007, the Air Resources Board will file a lawsuit. While protecting Californians from the threat of global climate change should not be forced into the court room, I am fully prepared to take whatever legal or political actions are necessary to ensure this threat is avoided. If there remains any doubt as to whether the EPA has the authority to regulate greenhouse gases as a pollutant, the Supreme Court’s decision in Massachusetts et al. v. EPA ((2007) ___ U.S. ___ [127 S.Ct. 1438, 75 U.S.L.W. 4149]), should lay it to rest.

California and the thirteen other states that have adopted or are adopting the California standards should not have to wait three years to take action in protecting the public health and welfare of its citizens. California supports a strong federal program that aggressively reduces greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, and we will work with the EPA when it takes on the task recently announced by the White House. But the EPA must grant California’s waiver. There is simply no legal justification to do anything else. If I have misunderstood your intentions and you plan to act on California’s waiver request before October 22, 2007, the end of our 180-day notice period, I would welcome the opportunity to discuss next steps with you.

Sincerely,

Arnold Schwarzenegger

cc: Linda S. Adams, Secretary for California EPA

William L. Wehrum, U.S. EPA Acting Assistant Administrator

David Dickinson, EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality

The Honorable Deval Patrick, Governor of Massachusetts

The Honorable Eliot Spitzer, Governor of New York

The Honorable Christine Gregoire, Governor of Washington

The Honorable Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico

The Honorable Ted Kulongoski, Governor of Oregon

The Honorable Edward Rendell, Governor of Pennsylvania

The Honorable Janet Napolitano, Governor of Arizona

The Honorable Jim Douglas, Governor of Vermont

The Honorable Jon Corzine, Governor of New Jersey

The Honorable M. Jodi Rell, Governor of Connecticut

The Honorable John Baldacci, Governor of Maine

The Honorable Donald L. Carcieri, Governor of Rhode Island

The Honorable Martin O’Malley, Governor of Maryland

Source: California Governor