Did Cheney Tell EPA Chief to Ignore Experts, Reject California Emissions Plan?

U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney may have been the behind-the-scenes Santa that gave U.S. automakers an early Christmas present. Cheney, who met with auto executives about a month ago, is suspected of instructing EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson to deny California’s request for a waiver that would have allowed the state to enforce strict limits on greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles—possibly in exchange for automakers’ support of higher fuel-economy standards in the recently passed energy bill.

EPA staff told the Los Angeles Times that Johnson ignored their expert advice and stopped seeking or listening to their counsel about a month before handing down his decision last week. According to EPA staff members, Johnson informed them of his decision and told them to find a legal rationale to justify it.

Johnson Rationale for Denial Doesn’t Fit the Facts
In announcing his decision to deny California’s request, Johnson claimed a state regulation was no longer needed or justified because of the new energy bill that will increase fuel economy standards to 35 miles per gallon by 2020. The energy bill was signed into law by President Bush the same day that Johnson denied California’s request for a waiver. Johnson also said that California's request did not meet the legal standard set out in the Clean Air Act.

EPA staff experts, who worked for months on the California waiver request, came to the opposite conclusion, which Johnson knew full well when he ignored their advice and denied California the right to regulate vehicle greenhouse gas emissions—a right that a federal judge recently upheld.

"California met every criteria ... on the merits," an anonymous member of the EPA staff told the Los Angeles Times. "The same criteria we have used for the last 40 years ... We told him that. All the briefings we have given him laid out the facts."

Was EPA Decision a Political Payoff to Automakers?
The White House denies Cheney played any role in the EPA decision, and automakers claim they made no deal with Cheney or Johnson. Other informed observers see things quite differently.

A New York Times editorial published shortly after Johnson’s announcement described the decision as, "an indefensible act of executive arrogance that can only be explained as the product of ideological blindness and as a political payoff to the automobile industry.”

The only thing that seems absolutely certain at this point is that California and several other states will sue the EPA, hoping the courts will override the decision.

Learn more:

• EPA Chief is Said to Have Ignored Staff – Los Angeles Times
• Arrogance and Warming – New York Times
• Is EPA Playing Dirty with Clean Air Law? – Associated Press
• Cheney Accused of Blocking California Bid to Cut Car Fumes -- The Guardian