Jan 23, 2008 3:05 pm US/Pacific
EPA Staffers: Calif. Emissions Waiver Justified
WASHINGTON (AP) ―
EPA officials told the agency's administrator that California had "compelling and extraordinary conditions" to justify a federal waiver allowing the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, according to excerpts of documents released Wednesday.
Yet when Administrator Stephen Johnson denied the state's request for a waiver in December, he said the California standards were not needed to meet "compelling and extraordinary conditions," one of the criteria in the federal Clean Air Act.
The excerpts from EPA documents were released by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., whose environmental committee is investigating Johnson's decision and has called him to testify at a hearing Thursday.
The staff report was given to Johnson in a PowerPoint presentation dated late October. The Environmental Protection Agency has refused to release unredacted versions of that presentation or other documents in response to congressional requests, citing executive branch confidentiality.
However, Boxer's aides were allowed to review and transcribe several versions of the 46-page presentation on Tuesday, spending 5 ½ hours doing so under supervision of EPA staff, Boxer said.
White tape covered the portions of the documents deemed confidential by EPA officials, but the congressional aides were allowed to peel it off.
EPA aides asked Boxer's staff to keep the information they viewed private, but the staff members told EPA they wouldn't agree to that condition. They released the excerpts to reporters Wednesday.
"I'm sure that Mr. Johnson will be horrified that I've shared this information, but let me tell you this—this information belongs to the American people, period," Boxer said.
EPA spokesman Jonathan Shradar said Boxer's decision to release the excerpts was "troubling," although he didn't dispute their accuracy.
"All of the information that will be available and has been will prove that (Johnson)'s been given a wide range of options and the ramifications, but under the Clean Air Act the decision was his alone and he stands by his decision," Shradar said.
"Today's performance was more appropriate for the lots of Hollywood than the halls of Congress," he added.
California needs the federal waiver to implement its first-in-the-nation tailpipe rules, which would force automakers to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent in new cars and light trucks by 2016, with reductions starting with the 2009 model year.
At least 16 other states also want to implement the regulations, but they too were blocked when EPA denied California a waiver. Earlier this month, California and other states sued EPA over the decision.
In its presentation, the EPA staff says California makes a strong case for being allowed to pursue stringent emission rules for cars and light trucks.
"California continues to have compelling and extraordinary conditions in general (geography, climatic, human and motor vehicle populations—many such conditions are vulnerable to climate change conditions) as confirmed by several recent EPA decisions...," according to one of the slides reviewed by Boxer's staff.
The Associated Press and other news outlets previously had reported on the existence of the PowerPoint presentation prepared for Johnson and that it included the prediction "EPA likely to lose suit" if sued for denying California's waiver.
There were new details in the excerpts Boxer released Wednesday, including that EPA officials were directed to soften the prediction over the likely outcome of a lawsuit. A later version of the PowerPoint read: "EPA's litigation risks are significantly higher than if a waiver is granted."
Also in the PowerPoint, according to the excerpts, was a slide labeled "If We Grant..." that included the predictions "likely suit by manufacturers" and "EPA is almost certain to win such a suit."
Automakers have opposed California's tougher emissions requirements, arguing they would create a patchwork of regulations around the country, an argument EPA also adopted when it denied the waiver.
Johnson said a fuel-efficiency law, adopted by Congress in December, was a better way to go since it also will result in reduced emissions from vehicles.
California officials and environmentalists contend the California law is stronger and takes effect faster than the new federal fuel-efficiency rules.
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