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01/03/2008 09:35 AM

States Sue EPA

SustainableBusiness.com News

Fifteen U.S. states, including California, and several environmental groups announced today that they have filed a lawsuit against the federal Environmental Protection Agency for "wrongfully and illegally" blocking tougher tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions standards.

California was denied a permit by the EPA that would have allowed the state to implement standards requiring new cars sold in the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2016. If granted, at least a dozen other states were prepared to follow California's lead.

However, EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson denied the waiver last month, stating that a federal standard imposed through the new Corporate Average Fleet Economy (CAFE) was better suited to address the problem.

However, California and the other states pursuing tougher standards reject Johnson's notion and believe the Clean Air Act allows for states to impose environmental restrictions more stringent than federal rules.

California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. filed his state´s lawsuit Jan. 2 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th District in San Francisco.

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