States Hope 3rd EPA Suit Is the Charm « The Washington Independent

The Bush administration comes to an end in January, but Environmental Protection Agency officials may be defending themselves in court well after that. There are now three pending lawsuits against EPA’s global warming policies, after twelve states announced that they are suing the environmental agency for not curbing greenhouse gases that spew from oil refineries. State attorneys general have taken their case to the U.S. Court of Appeals in D.C., pointing out that 15 percent of greenhouse gas pollutants, which cause global warming, come from refineries.

The lawsuit comes after 17 states sued EPA for not granting a waiver to let California police its own greenhouse gas automobile emissions. And 18 states have more broadly sued the agency for not following the Supreme Court ruling, Massachusetts v. EPA, that says greenhouse gases must be regulated if they’re a public hazard.

Why does EPA continue to take no action on global warming? It’s not clear since EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson has withheld greenhouse gas documents from Congress, using a presidential assertion of executive privilege. The House oversight committee is likely to challenge that assertion when Congress returns next month.

But with Congress in sessions for just three more weeks this year, lawsuits may prove the most effective path to undoing Bush’s EPA.