Obama Presses EPA to Consider a Waiver Giving States the Right to Set Their Own Auto Emissions Standards
January 28, 2009 Kyriaki (Sandy) Venetis 
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson
WASHINGTON, D.C.- President Barack Obama has requested that Lisa Jackson, newly appointed administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, “assess” whether it was “appropriate” for the agency to deny California the ability to set its own emissions standards for new motor vehicles.
The request was made through a direct memorandum from the president to the administrator.
Under current regulations, the Clean Air Act allows the EPA the ability to set emissions standards for motor vehicles on a national basis. The president reminded the agency that “for decades,” the EPA has granted California waivers to such standards.
The president also added that if California is granted a waiver, “other states may adopt emissions standards for new motor vehicles if they are identical to California’s standards” and comply with other statutory criteria.
Ms. Jackson - sworn in as administrator of the agency on January 26, 2009 - said in a statement regarding her new appointment, that, “As administrator, I will ensure that the EPA’s efforts to address the environmental crises of today are rooted in three fundamental values: science-based policies and programs, adherence to the rule of law, and overwhelming transparency.”
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Reader Comments (1)
This is a signal of the Obama administrations initial overhaul in the way the United States will address global climate change. This is a great first step, but until we get strong comprehensive legislation that invests in green jobs, stops our use of coal, and caps emissions, we still need to push. That is why I am so excited about Power Shift 2009, which will bring 10,000 young people from across the United States to Washington DC to learn essential organizing skills and to lobby our new Congress and administration directly.