Judge Says States Can Regulate Emissions

Sep 13 - USA TODAY

A federal judge in Vermont said Wednesday that states have the authority to regulate carbon dioxide and other so-called greenhouse gas emissions from autos, a ruling that could require automakers to boost fuel economy as much as 59% by 2016.

Because the only way to cut CO emissions is to burn less fuel, car companies say the ruling improperly allows states -- not just the federal government -- to set fuel-economy standards.

Automakers and their trade groups were still wading through the 244-page ruling late Wednesday. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which represents most big automakers, said it was "considering the options, including an appeal." The deadline for that is Nov. 13.

The ruling involves regulations set by California, and adopted verbatim by 11 other states, including Vermont, that require vehicles to cut CO emissions.

The rule would force cars sold in those states to average 43.7 miles per gallon by 2016 and trucks to average 26.9 mpg, automakers calculate. Today's nationwide requirements: 27.5 mpg for cars, 22.2 mpg for trucks.

"This stunning ruling says what we've been saying all along, that automakers have the technology to do this," says Michelle Robinson at the Union of Concerned Scientists. She says six other states are considering California standards. That would mean emissions rules in 18 states that account for half of new-vehicle sales. "At that point you have to ask the question, from the industry perspective, 'Why not make these vehicles standard across the industry?'" Automakers say it instead could force them to sell only certain vehicles in the 18 states to stay within emission limits.

California set the limits on greenhouse gases, blamed for global warming, as an addition to clean-air rules that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has allowed it to impose for years. The EPA must OK the change before it can be implemented. The EPA promises a ruling by the end of the year.

Meantime, automakers sued in California, Vermont and Rhode Island, saying greenhouse gas rules are camouflaged fuel-economy standards, and only the federal government can set those. A hearing in California is scheduled Oct. 22. But U.S. Judge William Sessions in Vermont has ruled first, in a decision that could affect the others. The standards "present great challenges to automakers," he wrote, but "history suggests that the ingenuity of the industry, once put in gear, responds admirably. ... The Court remains unconvinced automakers cannot meet" the limits.