Editorial: EPA wavers on waiver

Sunday, Nov. 11, 2007 | 8:02 a.m.

California has sued the Environmental Protection Agency to force it to decide whether it will grant a waiver needed to allow the state to move forward with tough tailpipe emissions standards for vehicles.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday, stems from California's 2005 request for the EPA waiver. The federal Clean Air Act specifically allows California to set its own standards for carbon dioxide tailpipe emissions and allows other states to adopt California's standards, which are stricter than federal regulations.

Fourteen states have approved California's standards, but none may adopt them - not even California - until the EPA grants the waiver. California and the other states want stronger restrictions on tailpipe emissions of carbon dioxide because it is a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.

EPA officials originally said they could not rule on the waiver because the agency lacks the authority to regulate tailpipe emissions. In April the U.S. Supreme Court said the EPA,in fact, does have such authority.

California's new standards are to go into effect for all cars and trucks starting with the 2009 model year, some of which could go on sale as early as January.

That could be one reason that automakers have opposed California's desired standards and the EPA's issuance of the waiver.

Automakers want the EPA to set national standards instead, which is not likely to happen until after President Bush is out of the White House. Bush opposes national emissions standards, favoring that automakers adopt voluntary ones. It is a philosophy Bush has extended to coal-fired power plants and other polluting industries as well, and it does not work. The EPA is being ridiculous. It should grant California's waiver.