CALIFORNIA SHELVES SUIT TO FORCE EPA RESPONSE TO GHG WAIVER REQUEST

摘要

Citing the need to focus on recent wildfires, California officials are postponing indefinitely their suit aimed at forcing EPA to respond to its request to establish first-time rules on greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. "We have decided to postpone filing the lawsuit until the fires are under control and the victims are on the road to recovery," California Air Resources Board Chair Mary Nichols said Oct. 31. This is the second time California has postponed its lawsuit since the fires broke out two weeks ago. The move comes as officials had raised concerns before the fires broke out that the suit could backfire by providing EPA with an excuse to avoid acting on its request for a Clean Air Act waiver in order to implement the rules. EPA chief Stephen Johnson has said he will respond to the waiver by the end of the year.