In an attempt to overturn last month’s controversial EPA decision to deny California permission to implement its own global-warming law, an aggressive Senate committee met Thursday to examine Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen L. Johnson’s testimony at an Environment and Public Works hearing.

California needs the federal waiver under the Clean Air Act, granted by the EPA, to implement its first-in-the-nation tailpipe rules, which would force automakers to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent in new cars and light trucks by 2016.

Sixteen other states also want to implement the regulations, representing nearly half of the auto market. But they too were blocked from beginning efforts to combat air pollution and global warming when the EPA denied California the tailpipe waiver. The Governors of Maryland, Pennsylvania and Vermont testified before the committee Thursday that attacking the problem was essential for their residents and the world as a whole.

Despite 16 state lawsuits and multiple legislators accusing Johnson of corruption from the federal government’s politically motivated allegiance to the auto industry, Johnson did not back down from his decision.  He declares, “I made the right decision. -- I was not directed by anyone. This was solely my decision."

In a letter sent Wednesday, fourteen governors stated Johnson’s decision as "unprecedented" and "without merit."  Another letter sent from officers of unions representing EPA scientists, engineers and other technical specialists to Johnson on Thursday, expressed "dismay and concern over the damage to EPA's reputation" after his denial of California's request.

However, Johnson intractably defended his logic-defying argument that uniform federal standards for vehicle fuel efficiency was a better approach to reducing auto emissions, and that California has no local stake in climate change.  Climate change is “a global problem requiring a global solution or, at least at a minimum, a national solution.”

In attempt to prove Johnson acted solely on his own judgment and against the recommendations of his legal and scientific staff, Barbara Boxer accused Johnson of stonewalling the committee's request for documents on how he reached the decision.  In fact, Boxer’s aides were forced to transcribe documents by hand, instead of photocopy the EPA's documents, whilst EPA staff members watched over their shoulders.

Johnson however claims his agency was protecting documents under attorney-client privilege, and asked that the documents not be disclosed to the public. Boxer nonetheless replied that Johnson had "no privilege" to withhold documents from Congress, and released the information to the public.

One of the more crucial facts observed in the EPA documents reads: “California continues to have compelling and extraordinary conditions in general (geography, climatic, human and motor vehicle populations — many such conditions are vulnerable to climate change conditions) as confirmed by several recent E.P.A. decisions.”

This contradicted Johnson’s argument that climate change is “not unique to California."  Furthermore, since the EPA's denial, experts from California's Air Resources Board have proven that California's solution would reduce emissions further and faster than the federal government's Energy Bill. This contradicts Johnson's other contention that the federal bill would adequately address the problem, and thus render a California standard superfluous.

Johnson’s testimony couldn’t be better stated than Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.): "This administration has taken the word 'environment' out of 'Environmental Protection Agency."

Barbara Boxer, just hours after Johnson’s testimony, said she will introduce new legislation, which will be co-sponsored by 17 senators, including Democratic presidential front-runners Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois.

This case is likely to face a presidential veto.  Supporting states backing California include Arizona, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.

Image Courtesy of the NY Times.