States sue EPA over inaction on greenhouse gas emissions from cars

Frustrated that the nation's guardian of air quality has not begun to control greenhouse gas emissions from cars, Minnesota and more than a dozen other states and cities sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday.

The action came one year after the U.S. Supreme Court determined that carbon dioxide and other vehicle gases are air pollutants, and that the EPA has authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate them.

The court also required the EPA to determine whether the emissions contribute to "air pollution which may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare," and if so, to establish greenhouse emission standards for new cars.

Filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., the complaint said that EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson has not issued that determination, despite a pledge to do so by the end of 2007, and called the inaction "a textbook example of unreasonable delay."

State AG alleges stalling

Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson said the EPA's continued stalling needs to end, and that she's disappointed that yet more litigation seems to be needed.

"The bottom line is that court decisions ought to have teeth and they ought to mean something," Swanson said, "and for a federal agency, in light of everything that's transpired, to drag their feet is unacceptable."

In Massachusetts, another state in the suit, Attorney General Martha Coakley called the EPA's failure to act "a shameful dereliction of duty."

EPA spokesman Jonathan Shradar said the Supreme Court set no deadline for the agency to evaluate how it would regulate greenhouse gas emissions from cars and other vehicles.

The agency will conduct more research and take a broader look at how best to regulate all greenhouse gas emissions, not just those from vehicles, he said. Otherwise, a collection of different laws and regulations could emerge rather than the "holistic" approach the Bush administration favors, Shradar said.

Wednesday's lawsuit rejects that argument and seeks a court order to force the EPA to release its determination of endangerment within 60 days.

The complaint cites evidence that Johnson has already determined that the emissions endanger public health or welfare, and that he sent it to the White House Office of Management and Budget in December. But it has not been published.

'States have no choice'

Joining the states' lawsuit are several national environmental groups, including Environmental Defense Fund, the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

In addition to Minnesota, the other states in the suit are Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.

Baltimore, New York City and the District of Columbia also have joined.

Michael Noble, executive director of Fresh Energy in St. Paul, said that the EPA's stance is one of unprecedented defiance.

Not only has the agency refused to move forward on federal regulations, Noble said, it has also tried to quash state efforts in California and elsewhere to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from cars.

"The states have no choice but to go to court to force EPA to act," he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Tom Meersman • 612-673-7388