California’s Fuel Rule Request Denied
WASHINGTON _ Hours after President George W. Bush signed a 40 percent boost in fuel economy standards, his administration rejected California’s request to set its own global-warming gas curbs on cars and trucks.
While the auto industry lobbied hard against the California laws, the rejection by the Environmental Protection Agency drew a firestorm of criticism from environmental groups, lawmakers and state officials, all of whom vowed to fight the decision.
EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson said the fuel economy standards of 35 mpg by 2020 in the energy bill signed Thursday would save more global-warming gases than California would acting alone.
Global warming “is a global problem that requires a national solution,” Johnson said. “The national standard of 35 miles per gallon will deliver significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, which is more effective than a state-by-state approach.”
Automakers have denounced the rules, saying the rules were far too strict and could create 100 different standards _ one each for cars and trucks in every state.
The California laws set a fuel economy standard of about 43 mpg by 2016 for cars and trucks weighing less than 3,750 pounds, although the actual target would be about 40.5 mpg because of credits for improvements in air-conditioning systems.
“It’s really important to try and drive towards a single federal regulation,” Chrysler LLC President Jim Press said in a statement Wednesday.
In addition to California, 16 other states covering two-thirds of all new vehicles sold have adopted the same rules, and California officials said they would sue and fight the EPA’s decision in Congress. It’s the first time since the Clean Air Act was passed in 1963 that the EPA denied a request from California to set tougher pollution rules.
Auto industry officials had lobbied the White House to reject the waiver request, and other Bush administration officials asked state officials to submit comments opposing the waiver. Johnson said his decision was independent, but did not address a question about political influence.
“EPA’s decision ignores the law, science, and common sense,” said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif. “This is a policy dictated by politics and ideology, not facts.”
The waiver decision shattered what had been a rare day of bipartisan celebration in Washington. Following increasingly bitter fights between Democrats on Capitol Hill and the Bush administration, the Energy Independence and Security Act emerged as the most successful political compromise of the year, despite players who seemed bent on antagonizing each other at every turn.
In a windowless auditorium in the basement of the Department of Energy, Bush signed the bill while surrounded by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rep. John Dingell, a Michigan Democrat, and about a dozen other members of Congress. He hailed its fuel economy rules and its requirement for 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels by 2022, a five-fold increase from today’s levels.
The bill is “a major step toward reducing our dependence on oil, confronting global climate change, expanding the production of renewable fuels and giving future generations of our country a nation that is stronger, cleaner and more secure,” Bush said.
A top priority of Bush and Pelosi, the fuel economy bill overcame 32 years of congressional inaction in less than a week after the final compromise was reached.
After stripping out a $22 billion tax and incentive plan and targets for renewable electricity, the fuel economy standards and renewable fuel mandates were the only major provisions to survive veto threats by Bush and filibusters from Senate Republicans.
Pelosi and House Democrats celebrated Tuesday after passing the bill, the official copy of which was carried from Congress to the White House in a Toyota Prius hybrid.
All that wrangling produced a bill that waves some big sticks at the auto industry while offering only a promise of carrots. The 35 mpg target by 2020 is absolute, and can’t be changed by federal regulators. The bill sets up several programs designed to help the industry, such as tax credits for hybrids and increased support for battery research, but doesn’t provide money for them.
Detroit automakers praised the bill, but also noted that the standards kicking in with the 2011 model year would be difficult to reach.
General Motors Corp. Chairman Rick Wagoner said the standards “set a tough, national target that GM will strive to meet.”
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GRAPHIC (from MCT Graphics, 202-383-6064): 20071219 Fuel efficiency
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