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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said today that it will let California set its own tailpipe emissions standards under a fresh interpretation of the Clean Air Act, The Los Angeles Times reports.

“This decision puts the law and science first,” EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said in a statement.

The announcement represents a compromise among the auto industry, environmental groups and the Obama administration. As a concession to automakers, the state has promised not to break from the federal standard until 2017. The new national requirement, approved in May, will require all new cars and trucks to get 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016.

Passed four decades ago, the Clean Air Act gave Calif. a “waiver” to petition the federal government for permission to impose its own benchmarks, but the Bush administration had denied the request.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger told the Times that the ruling is a “huge step for our emerging green economy.”

Image courtesy of JayWalsh via Wikimedia Commons

7 Comments

1. 1. sapbucket 05:14 PM 6/30/09

   "Get down!"
   
   Arnold strikes again

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2. 2. ADIron 05:28 PM 6/30/09

   Here we go again. Everybody has to fiddle with six different standards. Can't our government officials EVER get their act together? And what drugs is the Governator taking anyway?

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3. 3. ADIron 05:30 PM 6/30/09

   Here we go again Balkanizing the standards so that product engineers and suppliers have to be lawyers to design their goods. What is The Governator smoking these days? California DESERVES the highest unemployment rate in the nation......They earned it.

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4. 4. Soccerdad 09:21 AM 7/1/09

   I guess California must really have their act together since they have time to set emissions statndards for automobiles. That $24B deficit thing (out of a $90B budget) must just be a small misunderstanding. I'm sure they really do know what they're doing out there.

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5. 5. gervster 09:53 AM 7/1/09

   Perhaps a fresh grasp on the concept is what is needed here. In the coming years, there will be absolutely no need for a combustion driven engine. It is quite clear that the next economic boom will come from a new world of renewable resources, smart grids, and "green" cars. So anybody with half a brain should realize that the Governor is merely trying to jump start the process by upping the standards and pushing for fuel efficiency. I would direct you to a link on ultracapacitors, but clearly that would be time ill spent.

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6. 6. Soccerdad 04:20 PM 7/1/09

   I grasp the concept gervster. The economic boom you reference will take place in Asia as we continue down the path of economic stupidity in the West and force ourselves to pay 2x to 3x more for energy than necessary.

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7. 7. DPajak 07:27 PM 6/15/10

   Oh brother! Am I hearing you correctly? Are some of you actually complaining about how this will create different standards and how it will make it more difficult for industry to compete in different markets? Do all countries have the same emmissions requirements? Of course not. This means that industry already has to do this, if they want to compete globally,
   
   Second, California is the only state which is allowed to exceed national air quality standards. Other states have a choice once California decides to do so...they can either follow California's standards, or the national one...but they cannot make up their own. California has long had this privelege because of their bad smog problems. This is nothing new; what was new, was the Bush Administration's decision to fight California on it. That is because it was true what people said..."The Bush Administration wasn't in bed with the oil (and automobile) companies; THEY WERE THE OIL AND AUTOMOBILE COMPANIES!"
   
   Most of the people who made up the Bush Administration did not live in California, nor did they move there, afterward. If California wants to do more to protect its air, and its citizens' health...I say more power to them!

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