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California Greenhouse-Gas Waiver Request
The California Air Resources Board in December 2005 requested a waiver of pre-emption for its greenhouse-gas regulations for certain new motor vehicles beginning with Model Year 2009 (see the request). California’s request was subject to the waiver criteria set forth in the Clean Air Act. EPA followed the statutory process used for all waivers to review California’s request.
EPA sent a letter to California on Dec. 19, 2007, setting forth its intent to deny the waiver in favor of a national solution for vehicle greenhouse-gas emissions. On Feb. 29, 2008, EPA Administrator Johnson signed a Federal Register Notice Denying a Waiver of Clean Air Act Preemption for California's 2009 and Subsequent Model Year Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards for New Motor Vehicles.
- Letter to Governor Schwarzenegger from EPA Administrator Johnson on Dec. 19, 2007 (PDF) (4 pp, 2MB)
- Dec. 19, 2007 Press Release
- Federal Register Notice: California State Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Standards; Notice of Decision Denying a Waiver of Clean Air Act Preemption for California's 2009 and Subsequent Model Year Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards for New Motor Vehicles | PDF Version (14 pp, 127K)
NOTE: You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader, available as a free download, to view some of the files on this page. See EPA's PDF page to learn more about PDF, and for a link to the free Acrobat Reader.
Waiver Process
The Clean Air Act gives California special authority to enact stricter air-pollution standards for motor vehicles than the federal government’s. EPA must approve a waiver, however, before California’s rules may go into effect. Once California files a waiver request, EPA publishes a notice for public hearing and written comment in the Federal Register. The written comment period typically remains open for a period of time after the public hearing. Once the comment period expires, EPA reviews the comments and the administrator determines whether California has satisfied the law’s requirements for obtaining a waiver.
According to the Clean Air Act Section 209 – State Standards, EPA shall grant a waiver unless it finds that California:
- was arbitrary and capricious in its finding that its standards are in the aggregate at least as protective of public health and welfare as applicable federal standards;
- does not need such standards to meet compelling and extraordinary conditions; or
- has proposed standards not consistent with Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act.
You can read all the documents associated with this waiver request at www.regulations.gov (Or go to the main page for the regulations docket, select Advanced Search, then Docket Search, and type EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-0173 as the Docket ID). Below we have provided direct links to some of the relevant documents.
For extensive information about federal environmental laws, EPA regulations, significant guidance documents, and dockets -- including how to search for rules and comment on them -- see the Laws, Regulations, Guidance, and Dockets site.
