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15 States Sue Over Clean Air Decision

Suit seeks to overturn EPA's refusal to allow tougher rules

By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com

January 2, 2008

California Attorney General Jerry Brown characterized the EPA refusal to allow states to enforce their own emissions rules as "shocking" with no "legal justification for the unprecedented action.”

In December, the EPA denied California's request for a waiver under the federal Clean Air Act that would have allowed the state to enforce its own tough greenhouse gas rules.

The EPA decision came on the same day President Bush signed new energy legislation that increased fuel economy standards for vehicles up to 40 percent by 2020 and requiring an average of 35 mpg from automakers for their entire fleet of vehicles.

California's Attorney General charged in a statement that the EPA had never before denied a waiver to the state allowing for clean-air rules tougher than those of the federal government.

The 15 states want to limit greenhouse gases as part of the effort to slow global warming.

The lawsuit was filed in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco which is one of the most liberal federal courts in the country.

Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington all joined California in the legal action.

The advocacy groups signing on to the case include the Conservation Law Foundation, Environmental Defense, International Center for Technology Assessment, Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club.

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