Marlo Lewis, CEI, Comment on California Waiver Request, April 6, 09, final draft

April 6, 2009 Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2006-0173 California State Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Standards; Greenhouse Gas Regulations; Reconsideration of Previous Denial of a Waiver of Preemption By Electronic Mail: a-and-r-docket@epa.gov Contact Information: Name: Marlo Lewis Organization: Competitive Enterprise Institute thAddress: 1899 L. Street, NW, 12 Floor Washington, D.C. 20036 Tel: 202-669-6693 Email: mlewis@cei.org The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) submits this comment letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on its reconsideration of the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) request for a waiver under §209 of the Clean Air Act (CAA). Granting the waiver would allow California—and other states opting into the CARB program—to establish greenhouse gas emission standards for new motor vehicles. Thirteen other states are poised to adopt the CARB program if EPA grants the waiver. In 1all, about 40% of the U.S. auto market would come under the CARB rules. EPA should continue to deny the waiver because: (1) Granting the waiver could be a lethal blow to the financially-imploding U.S. auto industry. As such, it is inconsistent with CAA §202(a)(2), which directs the Administrator to give “appropriate consideration to the cost of compliance.” (2) California does not need its own greenhouse gas motor vehicle emissions standards to meet “compelling and extraordinary conditions,” as former EPA Administrator ...