automakers lose ground in calif. emissions war

Automakers lose ground in Calif. emissions war
National Research Council report says state OK to be tougher than EPA

David Mcnew / Getty Images file

Updated: 11:19 a.m. ET March 16, 2006
WASHINGTON - A government report released Thursday does not
recommend giving the Environmental Protection Agency the power to
stop states from adopting tough vehicle-emission standards similar
to those in California.

In a setback for automakers, the National Academies' National
Research Council said California's role in setting emission
standards has been scientifically valid and necessary because of
persistent pollution in parts of the nation's most populous state.

The study, eagerly anticipated by the auto industry and
environmentalists, examined emissions standards for mobile sources
such as cars, light trucks and construction vehicles. The panel
found that substantial progress has been made in reducing emissions
but more needs to be done to meet federal air-quality standards in
many parts of the country.

California, which began regulating pollution before the federal
government, has the authority under the Clean Air Act to set its own
vehicle pollution standards. States can adopt either the federal
standards or California's rules, and some Northeastern and Western
states have followed California's lead.

Some environmental groups had feared the study might be used by
Congress to put restrictions on states' abilities to choose the
California regulations. But the committee said it disagreed over
ways to improve the process by which states adopt California's
standards.

"What role EPA is to have in the state adoption process is a policy
decision that goes beyond scientific and technical considerations,"
the researchers said.

The report said the EPA needs to play a role in an improved process.
The committee offered two recommendations: The EPA could help by
providing formal but nonbinding guidance, or it could grant or
(under limited circumstances) deny waivers allowing states to adopt
the California rules. The panel disagreed over which would be most
effective.

The study also recommended that the EPA speed up waiver requests
that it considers noncontroversial and put a time limit on decisions
that are more contentious.

California seen as laboratory
The report said California's standards, which are mostly stricter
than those of the federal government, have helped push forward
pollution-reducing technologies.

"California has used its authority as Congress envisioned: to
implement more aggressive measures than the rest of the country and
to serve as a laboratory for technological innovation," the report
said.

Environmentalists said the study reaffirmed the role of states in
reducing air pollution and global warming.

"We've learned the hard way that we can't always count on the
federal government alone to protect our health and environment,"
said Frank O'Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch.

Bill Becker, the executive director of the State and Territorial Air
Pollution Program Administrators and the Association of Local Air
Pollution Control Officials, said the findings represented
a "tremendous victory for the preservation of states' rights."

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, in a statement, noted that
the study recognized that vehicles are 99 percent cleaner than 1967
models because of reductions in smog-forming emissions.

"Automakers continue working hard to develop automobiles that are
cleaner, safer and smarter than ever before," the industry group
said.

The study was sought by Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., in 2003. While it was
under way, California air regulators in September 2004 approved the
world's most stringent rules to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The auto industry has challenged those standards in court.


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