States sue Bush administration in effort to boost CAFE standards

States sue Bush administration in effort to boost CAFE standards

Washington (Platts)--2May2006

California, New York, and eight other states sued the US Department of
Transportation Tuesday in an effort to force the Bush administration to raise
Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards for gas-guzzling sport-utility
vehicles and light trucks.

The suit, filed in the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco,
takes issue with the new CAFE standards that DOT promulgated for the vehicles
last month. Those standards require SUVs and light trucks to get an average of
24 miles per gallon beginning in 2011, a modest increase from the current
benchmark of 21.6 mpg.

The states, though, say that increase is insufficient to keep emissions
from the vehicles from worsening air quality and fostering global warming.

"With gas prices skyrocketing, we must substantially increase fuel
efficiency in new vehicles, not only to protect the pocketbooks of working
families, but also to reduce vehicle emissions that contribute to global
warming," said Bill Lockyer, California's attorney general. "The Bush
administration once again has missed an opportunity to promote new technology,
fuel economy and conservation by issuing fuel economy goals that are status
quo."

The states did not elaborate on their legal strategy in the preliminary
papers they filed with the court Tuesday. But they said they intend to argue
that the administration's CAFE standards violate the National Environmental
Policy Act and the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, both of which require
the government to analyze the impacts of the new regulations on fuel
conservation and the environment.

DOT did not respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit by press time.

In addition to California and New York, states joining the suit are
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode
Island and Vermont. The same states are also suing the Bush administration for
reusing to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and automobiles
that are allegedly contributing to global warming.

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