Release 08-46 |
Stanley Young (916) 322-2990 www.arb.ca.gov |
SACRAMENTO - Mary Nichols, Chairman of the California Air Resources Board, issued the following statement about Senator Boxer's new bill that would reverse the EPA decision denying California's request to be allowed to implement its regulations minimizing greenhouse gas emissions from autos. This follows revelations from a report issued by the house of representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, chaired by Representative Henry Waxman, that after communications with the White House, Administrator Johnson reversed his original decision -- supported fully by USEPA staff -- to grant California a waiver to enforce its clean car law .
"We applaud the fact that Senator Boxer's bill to overturn administrator
Johnson's illegal denial of California's waiver request made it out of the committee. This is a significant step
forward but only one skirmish in the battle to secure our rights and protect the environment. We will continue
to fight for the waiver in the courts, we will press our case with the public, and we will not stop demanding that
the federal administration obeys the law. Fourteen states representing almost half the vehicles in the nation and
tens of millions of consumers need clean cars now that reduce greenhouse gases and save money at the pump. "
--The Air Resources Board is a department of the California
Environmental Protection Agency. ARB's mission is to promote and protect public health, welfare, and ecological
resources through effective reduction of air pollutants while recognizing and considering effects on the economy.
The ARB oversees all air pollution control efforts in California to attain and maintain health based air quality
standards.
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