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TRENTON
-- Attorney General Anne Milgram and Department
of Environmental Protection Commissioner
Lisa P. Jackson announced today that New
Jersey has joined with Massachusetts and
other states in suing the federal Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) over its failure
to comply with a year-old U.S. Supreme Court
directive ordering the EPA to take action
on a rulemaking petition to regulate greenhouse
gas emissions from motor vehicles.
“EPA’s
conduct to this point demonstrates a troubling
lack of urgency regarding the critical issue
of global warming,” said Attorney
General Milgram. “Moreover, it demonstrates
a blatant disregard for the U.S. Supreme
Court, which has ordered that EPA stop abdicating
its responsibility under the law and act
to address the issue of greenhouse gas emissions
from motor vehicles sooner than later.”
“In
New Jersey,” said Commissioner Jackson,
“motor vehicles account for the largest
portion of the state's total greenhouse
gas emissions. The federal government's
lack of action to date on this important
issue defies all logic and obfuscates justice
by failing to protect the public health
and welfare.”
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in April 2007
that the EPA, despite its assertion to the
contrary, has authority under the federal
Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas
emissions from cars and trucks. The court
also found that EPA had used improper grounds
to deny a rulemaking petition, filed by
the states, that asked EPA to do so. At
the time, the Supreme Court directed EPA
to revisit the states’ rulemaking
petition, to determine whether greenhouse
gas emissions are a threat to public health
or welfare and, if so, to develop regulations
governing such emissions.
In
the wake of the Supreme Court ruling, EPA
indicated on several occasions that it was
moving forward on the court’s directive.
Despite
those indications -– formalized by
EPA in a regulatory plan published in December
2007 -- the year ended with no action. In
January of this year, Attorney General Milgram
and Commissioner Jackson announced that
New Jersey had signed onto a multi-state
letter to EPA expressing concern that the
agency appeared to be “unreasonably
delaying” its compliance with the
Supreme Court.
The
letter asked that EPA provide specifics
on how it intended to carry out the Supreme
Court mandate by February 27, 2008. The
letter threatened legal action if EPA demonstrated
further “unreasonable delay.”
In
a petition filed today with the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the District of Columbia
Circuit, Massachusetts, New Jersey and the
other parties ask the court to now order
EPA to comply with the Supreme Court’s
directive by issuing an endangerment determination
within 60 days. Under federal law such a
determination, which the states contend
has been scientifically shown to be the
case, then obligates EPA to adopt formal
regulations on greenhouse gas emissions.
In
addition to New Jersey and lead state Massachusetts,
Attorneys General for Arizona, California,
Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maine,
Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York,
Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington
state have signed onto the petition filed
today . In addition, the District of Columbia,
City of Baltimore, City of New York and
numerous environmental organizations have
signed on as well.
Deputy
Attorneys General Lisa Morelli and Jung
Kim, assigned to the Division of Law’s
Environmental Enforcement Section, are handling
the matter on behalf of New Jersey.
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