More States Sue EPA as Agency Issues First Climate Change Regulations
FOXNews.com, April 02, 2010 [here]
The battle over global warming escalated this week with the Environmental Protection Agency issuing its first rules ever on vehicle greenhouse gas emissions even as more states lined up to legally challenge the new regulations.
On Thursday, the heads of the Transportation Department and the EPA signed final rules setting fuel efficiency standards for model years 2012-2016, with a goal of achieving by 2016 the equivalent of 35.5 miles per gallon combined for cars and trucks, an increase of nearly 10 mpg over current standards set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The rules come after 12 states joined petitions filed by Virginia, Alabama and Texas against the EPA for ruling in December that greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide endanger human health — a ruling that cleared the path for the agency to start issuing mandatory regulations to reduce them.
“While we made the decision to intervene based on what was in the best interests of Virginia and her citizens, it is gratifying to have the support of so many other states,” Virginia Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli said recently in a written statement.
The lawsuit seeks to force the EPA to reopen hearings on its December finding or block the regulations. … [more]