California joins lawsuit against EPA

Attorney General Jerry Brown joined officials in 17 other states Wednesday in demanding the federal Environmental Protection Agency release its internal finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger public health.

The move comes after EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson wrote last week that he plans to open a months-long public comment period on greenhouse gas emissions, a procedure that critics say serves to delay action on emissions until after President Bush leaves office.

The states, joined by environmental groups, were scheduled to file their legal demand Wednesday in the U.S. Court of Appeals, asking that EPA release the finding within 60 days.

"The president and his assistants have taken control here and have continuously blocked or sabotaged efforts to control greenhouse gases, although on some occasions saying something to the contrary and giving false hopes to the country," Brown said in a conference call. "What we have here is the environmental agency ... acting completely contrary to its essential mission and duty."

The EPA last year denied California and other states a waiver to regulate tailpipe emissions for greenhouse gases. Those states have since filed suit against the federal government in the U.S. District Court of Appeals challenging the decision.

Wednesday's legal action seeks to obtain an internal EPA decision that greenhouse gases from vehicles endanger public health or welfare, a finding that came after the Supreme Court demanded last year that the federal agency make a determination on the risks of such emissions. Instead of releasing the internal finding, Johnson wrote members of Congress last week that he would pursue an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the issue, which involves a public comment period.

"We will review this new petition and respond appropriately," said EPA press secretary Jonathan Shradar in an e-mail response. "EPA will continue its work on an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking taking into account all sources of (greenhouse gas) emission and realizing the best approach for dealing with climate issues. We believe the ANPR is a reasonable path forward."

California in 2006 approved a law requiring the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 25 percent by 2020, and the state hopes to make use of its 2002 tailpipe law regulating vehicle emissions to achieve that goal. But federal rules stipulate that in order to use the tailpipe law, California must first obtain the waiver that EPA denied last year.

"It has been a full year since the Supreme Court declared that greenhouse gases are pollutants which should be regulated by the federal government, but the U.S. EPA has refused to grant California's waiver that would allow us and 19 other states to improve our quality of life by setting tougher vehicle emissions levels," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a statement. "The authority of states to address greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles has been clearly and unequivocally supported -- by the Supreme Court, a federal court decision in Vermont and in December by a federal court here in California. On this issue, the U.S. EPA has failed to lead, it has failed to follow the states' lead, and we are prepared to force it out of the way in order to protect the environment."