Newswire:

The EPA Vs. Everyone Else: Get Ready To Rumble

This week, the Environmental Protection Agency ruled that California cannot pass a law to implement stricter emissions standards than those in place by the rather weak Clean Air Act. [CBS News] [LA Times] [AP]

The ruling not only blocks California from trying to cut tailpipe emissions, it also blocks at least 16 other states that wanted to follow California’s lead.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger pledged to go down fighting on this one. “We will sue to overturn this ruling as quickly as possible. I have no doubt that we will prevail because the law, science and the public’s demand for leadership are on our side.” [AFP]

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo also said that his state would challenge the decision. Yesterday, the Mustache of Justice himself, Rep. Henry Waxman, announced the House Oversight Committee would be taking a good hard look into the decision.

Waxman sent a letter to EPA administrator Stephen Johnson demanding “all documents relating to the California waiver request, other than those that are available on the public record.” Rep. Waxman didn’t think the ruling passed the sniff test, saying the “EPA’s decision ignores the law, science, and commonsense.” [House Oversight]

(By the way, someone gave us a heads up yesterday that you can buy Mustache of Justice t-shirts, buttons, and mugs HERE. Thanks for making our phrase sing!)

Late yesterday, Maryland also stepped into the fray, saying it planned to sue the EPA for rejecting the California rule (the EPA decision means the new Maryland emissions rule, which was based on the California law, can’t go into effect either.) [Washington Post]

Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler: “We feel like we’re on strong legal ground to bring the suit. There’s no good justification for them to deny the request.” In a joint statement with Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, Gansler was even more direct. “By bowing down to corporate interests, the Bush Administration is thwarting the will of the citizens of more than a dozen states and the Supreme Court of the United States.”

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