Federal Judge Rules That States Can Regulate Greenhouse Gases from Vehicles
On September 12th, a federal judge with the U.S. District Court in Vermont ruled that states have the authority to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from vehicles, rejecting automaker arguments that only the federal government could do so and that technology can not be developed to meet standards in time.
Automakers had challenged California and 11 other states that adopted standards requiring reductions in tailpipe GHG emissions beginning in 2009 with a 30-percent reduction requirement for cars and trucks by 2016. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has yet to decide whether it will grant California's request for a waiver that will allow the regulations to take effect.
The judge also ruled that if the EPA grants California's waiver, the state's GHG regulations will become another federal standard and must be considered when the federal government sets corporate average fuel economy standards. This ruling, if upheld, is expected to force automakers to improve fuel efficiency by roughly 25 percent.
Legal battles on tailpipe GHG standards are just beginning. Most expect the decision will be appealed, ultimately to be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. Similar federal lawsuits by automakers are pending in Rhode Island and California.
ConocoPhillips' California Refinery Expansion to Offset Greenhouse Gases
On September 11th, California Attorney General Edmund Brown announced that ConocoPhillips will offset 500,000 metric tons of CO2 to partially mitigate a planned expansion of its refinery in Northern California.
Contra Costa County, in which the refinery is located, had issued an environmental impact statement (EIS) earlier this year finding that the proposed expansion's estimated CO2 emissions of 1.25 million metric tons did not require mitigation. The attorney general challenged the county's EIS finding, charging that it did not properly asses the emissions impact as required by the California Environmental Quality Act.
The agreement with the attorney general requires ConocoPhillips to pay the Bay Area Air Quality Management District $7 million to offset the refinery's new hydrogen plant's anticipated initial emissions of 500,000 metric tons per year through 2012. The attorney general and the air district must agree on how the funds will be distributed by June 2009.
In his statement, Attorney General Brown said, "Under this unprecedented global warming reduction plan, ConocoPhillips becomes the first oil company in America to off\set greenhouse gas emissions from a refinery expansion project."