The October 22 deadline the governor gave the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to decide whether to allow the state to implement its law to curb global warming gases from vehicle tailpipes, AB 1493, came and went (Circuit, Oct. 5, 2007). However, Mary Nichols, California Air Resources Board chair, said the threatened suit would be filed next week. “Governor Schwarzenegger and I intend to postpone the filing of the lawsuit until next week so that all the state and federal resources can remain focused on fighting these devastating wildfires,” Nichols stated October 23. The agency is expected to assert that the EPA violated the Clean Air Act, an argument fortified by the US Supreme Court ruling earlier this year that held the feds are required to regulate carbon dioxide. Reaching the 20 percent carbon reduction goals under the state’s global warming law depends on implementing AB 1493 because the transportation sector is responsible for 40 percent of the state’s carbon emissions. California lawmakers and those from 13 other states have lined up to sue the EPA to obtain federal approval for their laws to cut vehicle emissions to reduce global warming. California, which laid the statutory groundwork, requested a federal Clean Air Act waiver from the EPA in December 2005. U.S. EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson has been vigorously criticized for not moving on the matter. He said a decision would be made before the year’s end.
