The Terminator is Ready to Strike Again

The Terminator is ready to strike again, this time at the US government. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the governor of California, is set to sue the US government after it could not give the state a waiver relating to fuel emission standards. The waiver would have enabled the state to mark out its own standards when it came to fuel emission. Schwarzenegger would be filing the lawsuit against the government on Wednesday.

The state of California applied for a waiver way back in 2005. The Environment Protection Agency made promises to the effect that it was studying the state’s application, but nothing has come of it so far. The EPA is still to make a decision regarding granting the waiver.

Governor Schwarzenegger had issued a warning to the EPA almost six months back, stating he would file a lawsuit against it if the waiver did not come through. That deadline ended at the beginning of this week.

California began issuing regulation standards for automobile emissions as far back as 1970, which was much before the EPA started formulating its standards and policies relating to emissions across the nation. Since then, the state has come to be known for having the strictest laws in the country with regard to tail-pipe emissions.

California has the right to formulate its own laws relating to emission, laws that are, as mentioned earlier, more stringent than the ones laid down by the EPA. However, for that to happen, it has to receive the required permission from the EPA. It has received waivers from the EPA quite a few times so far. This is because it has been at the forefront of the battle against climate change.

The EPA stand regarding California’s request for a waiver was that it would decide about the matter by the end of 2007. It said before taking a decision it would have to go through 100,000 written comments as well as other information, something that has not gone down well with California.

Schwarzenegger’s spokesman said the governor had met the president as well as the EPA administrator regarding the matter, and had also sent letters to both of them. He said the state had waited a long time, two whole years, for the waiver to come through. The attorney-general of California, Jerry Brown, put another spin on the matter when he said there was a political angle to the matter.

The last time California set down laws regarding emission was in 2002. Once that law is implemented, it will ensure automobile manufacturers bring down carbon dioxide emissions by 30 percent between 2009 and 2016. A number of other states have also adopted the California standard. However, implementation would be possible only after the EPA gives the necessary waiver.