REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS

March 2009

To read this entire item of approximately 2500 words online now in PDF format: Click here to read this item if you are an existing subscriber to this publication. Click here to purchase the full text of this item to read now (price: $25). To subscribe to this publication and immediately access all its archives including this item, select the relevant publication under 'Catalogue' in the left-hand column PLEASE NOTE: to read PDFs on www.argento.com you must be using Version 5 of Acrobat Reader or Adobe Reader. If you have an earlier version you can download the latest free of charge by clicking here

President Obama Directs U.S. EPA to Reconsider Denial of California Clean Air Act Waiver Request

On January 26, 2009, President Obama issued an executive order that directed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reexamine a policy that could force automakers to produce more fuel-efficient cars that yield fewer greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). The executive order directed EPA to reconsider former EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson’s denial of California’s application for a preemption waiver from § 209 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) (see, 73 Fed. Reg. 12156 (March 6, 2008)), which if granted would enable California to enforce new GHG tailpipe emissions limits and stricter fuel efficiency standards. The move marked the first-ever EPA denial of a California CAA waiver request. On February 6, 2009, new EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson issued a Federal Register notice announcing a March 5, 2009 public hearing and a 60-day comment period on California’s request for reconsideration of the previous waiver denial.