California sues U.S. EPA over car emissions

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Thursday, demanding the right to set its own limits to crack down on greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles.

The long-threatened legal action follows a California law passed in 2005 requiring new vehicles to meet progressively tighter standards for emissions starting with 2009 models.

The most populous U.S. state needs a waiver from the federal government because it is seeking to impose stricter standards than U.S. law. Earlier this year Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger set an Oct. 22 deadline for a decision and threatened to sue if the EPA failed to act by then.

As massive wildfires dominated the headlines that week and threatened that the lawsuit would garner little public notice, Schwarzenegger decided to postpone the filing until Thursday.

The federal agency "has unreasonably delayed action on the requested waiver," said the lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

"Automotive emissions of greenhouse gases are increasing more rapidly than any other source," the lawsuit said. "The longer the delay in reducing these emissions, the more costly and harmful will be the impact on California."

A California spokesman for the EPA did not immediately return a call for comment.

The lawsuit comes as 16 other states including Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Washington have either adopted or are considering similar rules.

U.S. automakers are fighting California's environmental plans in the courts. In a separate case, a U.S. federal judge in September threw out a California lawsuit that had sought to hold vehicle manufacturers responsible for damages caused by climate-changing greenhouse gases.

"The state's tougher emission standards for cars and trucks will lead the way for the rest of the country," Paul Cort, an attorney for environmentalist group Earthjustice, said in a statement.

Last year, California passed a law calling for the most far-reaching greenhouse gas emissions reductions in the United States, saying it would cut global warming gases to 1990 levels by 2020 -- or by 25 percent from current levels. (Editing by Vicki Allen)