See you in court

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Jan 7, 2008

CALIFORNIA filed suit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday, seeking to overturn the agencys denial of a waiver for the states landmark efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Its a shame it had to come to litigation, but given the Bush administrations hostility toward efforts to improve the environment, it was inevitable.

California isnt alone. Sixteen other states and a host of environmental organizations are either joining the lawsuit or filing their own. The odds of prevailing seem good, since EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson appears to have overridden his own staffs recommendations, both on scientific and legal grounds, to grant the waiver.

In addition, the EPA has never issued a complete denial of a waiver request in the entire 40-year history of the Clean Air Act.

That act permits California, alone among the states, to craft tougher environmental protections than the federal standards, but it must first obtain a waiver.

Once a waiver has been granted, other states are permitted to follow Californias lead or adopt the federal rules.

The new energy bill specifically calls the federal standards a floor, not a ceiling, on regulatory efforts.

The EPA took its own sweet time reaching the decision to deny the waiver, waiting almost two years before turning it down. And the litigation over that denial will push back Californias 2009 deadline for imposing its own new rules. Thats too bad.

But the EPA and the Bush administration are on the wrong side of science, public opinion and, we believe, the law in this fight. We hope the courts agree.Fresno Bee

Editorial