Senate Democrats press EPA chief on global warming

WASHINGTON --Pressed repeatedly by Senate Democrats, the Bush administration's top environmental official would not say Tuesday when he would respond to a Supreme Court ruling that allows the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from cars and trucks.

Several members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee questioned whether EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson was dragging his feet in implementing an April 2 high court decision that found the EPA can set standards for vehicle exhaust under the Clean Air Act -- if Johnson found the emissions endanger public health.

Johnson did announce he was opening a period of public comment on California's request for permission to limit greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles -- a request first made 16 months ago. The comment period, which will include a hearing in Washington next month, ends June 15. Ten other states, including Massachusetts, have also asked for permission to regulate emissions if the EPA grants California's request.

But Johnson refused to give a timetable on when he would decide on the states' power to control emissions from vehicles. ``I'm not going to be forced into making a snap decision,'' he told reporters after the hearing.

Senator Barbara Boxer, the California Democrat and committee chair, told Johnson that he had been ``hiding behind a bogus legal action'' before the high court ruled. Now, she said, ``there is no excuse for delay.''

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat and former state attorney general, urged Johnson to move quickly and asked him about his top priorities for the agency. Johnson named clean water, climate change, and cleaning up hazardous waste sites.

``Global warming is no greater an issue than infrastructure with water or cleaning up hazardous waste?'' Whitehouse asked.

Johnson said he couldn't put all his agency's resources into one issue, neglecting others.

``You astonish me,'' Whitehouse said sharply.

Joining the criticism was Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, a Democrat from New Jersey. "Why has it been so difficult to convince you that your agency should protect the environment?'' the senator asked.

During more than an hour of testimony in the packed hearing room, Johnson repeatedly said the issues were complex and he needed time to make thoughtful decisions. ``We will move expeditiously, but we are going to be moving responsibly,'' Johnson said.

In last month's 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court did not require the EPA administrator to regulate heat-trapping emissions from vehicles.

Instead, the court asked for Johnson to determine whether the gases were harmful to humans. If so, the agency should then regulate the gases under the federal Clean Air Act; if not, Johnson would have to explain why.

The Bush administration has acknowledged that humans contribute to global warming. But it has resisted any mandatory rules to curb heat-trapping emissions because of fears that such regulations would hurt the economy and send jobs to countries without such standards.

In his testimony Tuesday, Johnson said the Supreme Court ruling, while limited to car and truck emissions, raised questions about whether other polluting gases --such as those from power plants -- should be controlled under the Clean Air Act.

Several Republican senators agreed with him that the agency should look carefully at all issues before making a decision.

``I do not envy you, Mr. Administrator,'' Senator James M. Inhofe of Oklahoma, a climate change skeptic. ``....You as a scientist are aware how politicized the science of climate change has become. Our understanding of climate is now in its infancy.''

But earlier this year, the United States along with most of the nations of the world signed a scientific document that found there was greater than a 90 percent certainty that the recent increases in emissions from carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases contributed to rising temperatures around the planet.

Two other former EPA administrators, William K. Reilly and Carol M. Browner, both testified Tuesday that the agency should move forward in regulating carbon dioxide emissions from automobiles.

Reilly said it was just as important for Congress to act on a wide range of global warming issues. Several pieces of legislation on climate change are being debate in the House and Senate.

``It puts the ball, frankly, in your court,'' Reilly told senators.

``....The professional staff at EPA has been preparing for this day for 20 years. You should challenge them to respond'' to the myriad of technical issues around regulation to reverse climate change, he said.

John Donnelly can be reached at donnelly@globe.com