Maryland Joins Suit Protecting States’ Rights to Fight Global Warming

Article continues below...

15 States File Suit Against the EPA Over Denial of California Emissions Standards

BALTIMORE, MD (January 2, 2008) – Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler today announced that Maryland is joining a lawsuit brought by California against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to uphold the right of states to regulate greenhouse gas pollution from automobiles.

On December 19, 2007, the EPA denied California’s request for a waiver, preventing California and all other states from implementing greenhouse gas emissions standards for cars. The federal Clean Air Act grants California -- exclusively among all states -- the power to enact its own air pollution standards for cars. The Clean Air Act also allows other states to adopt California’s standards, but California’s standards and those of the other states can only take effect if the EPA grants a waiver exempting California from federal regulation.

“The states have every right to implement strong standards to improve the environment,” said Attorney General Gansler. “The regulations Maryland has adopted are more stringent than federal standards and the EPA should not prevent states from taking the much needed step of reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions.”

California’s standards, adopted in August 2005, would reduce emissions of greenhouse gases from cars by 30% by 2016. Maryland adopted California’s standards in December, 2007. In total, at least 17 other states have now either adopted or plan to adopt the California standards.

Today’s lawsuit, which seeks to reverse the EPA decision, was filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. In addition to Maryland, the states or state agencies intervening in the suit are: Massachusetts, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.

Source: Maryland Attorney General