California sues EPA

State attorney general calls rejection of limit on automobile greenhouse gas emissions ‘illegal,’ ignores the requirements of the Clean Air Act.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday for denying its first-in-the-nation greenhouse gas limits on cars, trucks and SUVs, challenging the Bush administration’s conclusion that states have no business setting emission standards.


Other states are expected to join the lawsuit, which was anticipated after the EPA on Dec. 19 denied California’s request for a waiver, required under the federal Clean Air Act. The lawsuit was filed in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson denied California a waiver that it needs under the federal Clean Air Act to move forward with regulating greenhouse gas emissions from new cars and trucks. At least 16 other states had been expected to follow California’s lead and adopt the state’s tougher emission limits.

“There’s absolutely no justification for the administrator’s action,” Attorney General Jerry Brown told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday. “It’s illegal. It’s unconscionable and a gross dereliction of duty.”

AP