Jan. 2

California and several environmental groups have filed lawsuits against the U.S. EPA for "wrongfully and illegally" blocking the state´s tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions standards.

Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. filed the state´s lawsuit Jan. 2 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th District in San Francisco.

California wanted to implement standards for new cars sold in the state that would have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2016. However, EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson last month rejected the state´s plan, writing that greenhouse gas emissions present a concern for the nation and the world, not a local concern that should be addressed by the state. Johnson wrote that the federal government should be responsible for addressing greenhouse gas emissions.

However, Brown, in filing the appeal, rejected Johnson´s position.

The Clean Air Act should allow California to impose environmental restrictions more stringent than federal rules, Brown said.

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