EPA urged to allow states to regulate emissions
R.I. joins effort to cut pollution from cars, trucks
ARLINGTON, Va. -- Increasing the pressure on the Bush administration to act on global warming, Rhode Island's top prosecutor and Maine's top seller of hybrid cars joined a long line of environmentalists and state officials yesterday in urging the US Environmental Protection Agency to allow California, Massachusetts, and 10 other states to regulate emissions from cars and light trucks.
The EPA, in its first hearing on the matter after receiving California's request 15 months ago, also heard from a representative of the auto industry, who said that the states' action would be "unproductive" and that California had never proved that the proposed regulations would have an impact on global warming.
But Adam Lee , a "third-generation car dealer" who owns 12 dealerships selling various manufacturers in Maine, told an EPA panel he believes that most auto makers could meet the California standards, which call for a 30 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2016. That would amount to a fuel economy standard of 43.7 miles per gallon for passenger cars.
He listed a wide range of technologies that manufacturers could use, including hybrids, electric cars, bio-fuels, natural gas, hydrogen, and cleaner diesels.
"How is it that some car manufacturers can produce great hybrids and traditional [high-mileage] cars that people are lining up to buy, and most of the other manufacturers have not even gotten one on the road yet?" Lee said. "I believe it is a lack of effort on their part."
The states' effort to reduce emissions is the second major test of the EPA's willingness to enact stiffer regulations to combat global warming. Earlier this month, reacting to a Supreme Court decision that rejected the Bush administration's contention that it could not regulate car and truck emissions under the Clean Air Act, the EPA announced that it will set new standards by the end of 2008.
But 12 states -- including Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, Rhode Island, and Connecticut -- have said they do not want to wait that long, pushing instead for the ability to regulate those emissions starting with the 2009 car and truck models, which come out in the middle of next year. Those states represent nearly one-third of the nation's fleet of cars and light trucks.
Dating back four decades, Congress has given California special status to set stricter standards on pollutants because of its distinct topography and climate and high number of automobiles. The EPA must agree that the benefits of having special standards in California outweigh the burdens on industry; in every case brought by California so far -- the state has asked for more than 40 waivers --the EPA has given the go-ahead.
In this case, 11 states asked for the same right as California; two other states, New Mexico and Arizona, are now considering whether to join them.
Patrick Lynch , Rhode Island's attorney general, said that as he left his daughter's softball game and son's baseball game in mid-innings in Rumford Monday night in order to attend the hearing, both asked him why he was traveling to Washington. Lynch said he borrowed a line from Spiderman to explain.
"I told them the EPA has enormous power, and I'm going down to challenge them to step up and seize their responsibility," Lynch said.
Not every person who testified yesterday used flattery before the four-member EPA panel, which will hold a hearing next week in California. The matter is not expected to be resolved for several months.
Jerry Brown , the California attorney general, demanded an answer within 180 days, which he said would allow the states to start enacting the law for the 2009 vehicle models. California's governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has said he would file a lawsuit against the federal government if it did not grant the state's request.
The hot political discussions of the day, said Brown, revolved around "immigration and Iraq, and that is serious. But the long-term consequences of global warming are much more threatening to deal with, and we've got to get going."
But Steven Douglas , environmental affairs director of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers , which represents nine car manufacturers, said that "a patchwork of state-level fuel efficiency regulations is not simply unnecessary. It's patently unproductive."
Furthermore, Douglas said California has "refused to demonstrate how it will have any impact on temperature change. In fact, it will have no impact."
Among those who testified yesterday, his was a minority view. Lee, the Maine car dealer, equated the debate today with those in previous years over use of seat belts, airbags, and anti-lock brakes. Many manufacturers, he noted, opposed those measures due to cost, but when the federal government mandated them, car makers installed the safety devices.
"In the end, I believe the issue comes down to this: Will Americans pay for cleaner, more efficient cars?" said Lee, whose dealerships sell 7,000 new and used cars a year. "The answer is yes, they will."
Now, he said, he sells
"These cars, that Detroit bet their future on and my future, are not selling," he said. "They need a not-so-gentle nudge in the right direction of producing cleaner cars."
John Donnelly can be reached at donnelly@globe.com 
