EPA reconsidering California's car emissions waiver

Fri Feb 6, 2009 10:36pm EST

By Tom Doggett

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Environmental Protection Agency said on Friday it would reconsider California's request for the authority to cut greenhouse gas emissions by new cars and trucks to combat global warming.

The Bush administration had denied the state's request, but President Barack Obama asked EPA to take another look at the issue.

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson signed a notice on Friday officially reopening the comment period on California's waiver request. The notice will be published in the Federal Register of government regulations.

"EPA has now set in motion an impartial review of the California waiver decision," Jackson said. "It is imperative that we get this decision right, and base it on the best available science and a thorough understanding of the law."

The EPA will take public comment for 60 days through April 6 on the state's request. The agency will also hold a public hearing in Washington on March 5 on the issue.

The agency said the Clean Air Act gives the EPA the authority to allow California to adopt its own emissions standards for motor vehicles due to the seriousness of the state's air pollution challenges.

"EPA believes that there are significant issues regarding the agency's denial of the waiver. The denial was a substantial departure from EPA's long-standing interpretation of the Clean Air Act's waiver provisions," the agency said.

Automakers are against California's plan to cut emissions by 30 percent by 2016 because it would result in a de facto increase in automobile fuel efficiency, which currently is set by the federal government.

Manufacturers prefer a single fuel efficiency regulation approved by Congress and administered by the Transportation Department that is based on vehicle criteria -- not emissions.

The current proposal under consideration by transportation planners seeks to raise average fuel efficiency of the fleet by 40 percent by 2020. The California law would exceed that mandate years sooner.

(Reporting by Tom Doggett; additional reporting by John Crawley; editing by Jim Marshall)

http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE51549X20090207