In recent years, inadequate federal environmental legislation has prompted various states to enact their own environmental laws. But a U.S. PIRG report released this week asserts that the federal government-- at the behest of industry-- has reacted to states' initiatives by preempting states' right to adopt stricter protections.
While the federal government establishes air quality standards, for example it is up to individual states to ensure compliance. Therefore many states have enacted stronger regulations.
The U.S. PIRG report highlights the strong role California has played as a leader in states' efforts to strengthen environmental laws. California's particularly high levels of air pollution, 95 percent of its citizens live in areas the EPA considers unsafe to breathe. Some 50,000 are hospitalized every year due to air pollution-related diseases.
Because California had already established extensive clean air mechanisms well before the passage of the federal Clean Air Act in 1970, and because of its unusually severe pollution problems, Congress allowed it to continue issuing its own, consistently stronger, standards. The Act also allows other states to follow California's lead.
Examples of California's influence on nationwide environmental laws include the "low emission vehicle" program, which helped improve air quality throughout the nation by making way for national standards for tailpipe emissions. Likewise, 15 states have opted in to at least one of California's more protective standards, enhancing the health of 142 million Americans.
The U.S. PIRG report also points out that state vehicle emission policies provide a buffer against further weakening of federal standards. When several states adopt California's stronger standards, Congress and the White House have more difficulty justifying federal rollbacks.
State vehicle emission standards can also fill gaps in federal protections. For example, California's standards for diesel and buses fill a two-year gap that allowed manufacturers to sell more polluting engines. Following its implementation in California, 13 states adopted the same standard.
Industry groups seem intent on continuing to dismantle states' rights when they stand in the way of profits. Industry was successful last year in amending the Clean Air Act to bar states from adopting California's more protective standards for small and mid-sized spark-ignition engines. U.S. PIRG reports that the automotive industry is now set on eliminating states' ability to regulate pollution from mobile sources.
SOURCES:
"Power to Protect: The Critical Role States Play in Cleaning Up Pollution from Mobile Sources," U.S. PIRG Education Fund, June 2005
