States Challenge EPA Administrator's Decision
Washington and Oregon have joined California and 13 other states in challenging EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson's recent decision to deny California's request to regulate vehicle emissions more strictly than required under the Clean Air Act. The denial was the first issued under the Clean Air Act in 40 years and came against a consensus recommendation of EPA staff to grant the request. The states aren't the only ones questioning Johnson's decision – California Rep. Henry Waxman has called for an investigation of the decision by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and the Congressional Research Service thinks that California will win in court. In light of relatively uniform commentary that California has the better case, it is difficult to see why Johnson would deny the request except to appease anti-regulation interests tied to the administration. His position also counters the common Republican mantra of states' rights. Hopefully the states will be successful in court, but even if they are, the cost of victory, in both dollars and time lost, are unfortunate and disheartening.
Posted by David J. Petersen, partner practicing in the Sustainability and Real Estate & Land Use Practice Groups.
