Truck, SUV mileage standards thrown out by U.S. appeals court

[babylonsister]

Truck, SUV mileage standards thrown out by U.S. appeals court

Matthew Yi, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau

Friday, November 16, 2007

(11-16) 04:00 PST Sacramento - --

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered a federal transportation agency on Thursday to rewrite its fuel economy standards for many SUVs, minivans and light trucks, arguing that the new rules are inadequate in part because they fail to properly assess the risk of global warming.

The decision is a huge win for several environmental groups and 11 states, including California, that argued that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's new fuel economy standards ignored the effects of carbon dioxide emissions.

The panel also concluded that the agency failed to address why light trucks are allowed to pollute more than passenger cars. And it said the new rules should have included heavier trucks that are used as commuter vehicles.

The decision was the most recent example of growing pressure on the Bush administration to require automobile makers to sell more fuel-efficient vehicles.

Last week, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger filed a separate lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to force the agency to grant a federal waiver for California that would require automakers to revamp their product lineup with more fuel-efficient cars and trucks starting next year. Fourteen other states have petitioned to join that lawsuit.

Under existing rules, certain SUVs, minivans and light trucks are required to achieve an average 22.2 mpg for 2007 models. The new standards, announced in March 2006, would have upped that requirement to 24.1 mpg by 2011.

But the Center for Biological Diversity initiated the petition to the federal appeals court a month later, arguing that a 38 mpg benchmark can be readily achieved by 2015.

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http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/11/16/MNHMTD7IA.DTL

[Richard Steele]

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