New Mexico Cabinet Secretary of the New Mexico Environment Department testified on May 30 in Sacramento, California before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regarding Clean Car standards that the state of New Mexico is considering.
His tesimony follows:
Written Testimony of
Ron Curry Secretary of the New Mexico Environment Department
Before the United States Environmental Protection Agency
Regarding the California State Motor Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Standards;
Request for Waiver of Federal Preemption
May 30, 2007
Sacramento, California
Introduction
My name is Ron Curry and I am the Cabinet Secretary of the New Mexico Environment Department in the administration of Governor Bill Richardson. Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony regarding the importance of allowing California to implement clean car standards.
This issue goes well beyond California and that is why I am before you today. It is vitally important that California be allowed to adopt greenhouse gas vehicle standards. If California is prohibited from adopting these standards, so too will New Mexico and many other states that want to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation.
Global climate change is an extremely important issue to New Mexico. Climate change threatens our snow pack and our water. We simply don’t have any water to waste – it is our lifeblood and the basis for our economy – that is why Governor Richardson has taken a strong stance on this issue.
Governor Richardson’s Climate Change Advisory Group
In summer 2005, Governor Bill Richardson issued an Executive Order setting greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets for New Mexico. The goals are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to year 2000 levels by the year 2012, to reduce emissions 10 percent below 2000 levels by 2020 and 75 percent below 2000 levels by 2050. To meet the 2020 target, we will need to reduce emissions by about 37 percent in a business as usual scenario. Governor Richardson also established the New Mexico Climate Change Advisory Group. After a year and a half of hard work, this diverse group of 40 stakeholders from industry, environmental groups and local and tribal governments developed 69 greenhouse gas emissions reduction strategies to achieve the Governor’s emissions reduction targets. The group voted unanimously on 67 of the recommendations.
One of the unanimous recommendations from the advisory group is the adoption of the California GHG Emissions Standards for vehicles. In New Mexico, transportation ranks third in the production of greenhouse gas emissions; emissions in this sector are expected to grow faster than any other if conditions continue as they are now.
Of the 69 recommendations developed by the New Mexico Climate Change Advisory Group, the adoption of the California Clean Car Standard was determined to be the most cost effective. In addition, these standards will reduce transportation related emissions approximately 30 percent by 2016 and will keep an estimated 10.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide pollution from being released into New Mexico’s air. It is evident that if we are prohibited from adopting the California GHG emission standard, we will not meet the Governor’s greenhouse gas emission reduction target for New Mexico.
The Western Regional Climate Action Initiative
In the absence of a strong national climate program, Governor Richardson is pushing for regional solutions. On February 26, 2007, he signed a memorandum of understanding with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Governors of Arizona, Washington and Oregon creating the Western Regional Climate Action Initiative. Most recently Utah and British Columbia became members and we expect the membership to continue to grow. Each member of the Western Regional Climate Action Initiative is committed to adopting clean tailpipe standards for passenger vehicles that will result in major reductions in GHG emissions and other pollutants. In order to do this, each state member is relying on EPA to grant California a waiver.
Waiver Criteria
There is no reason for EPA not to act quickly since California has met the criteria for receiving a waiver of federal preemption. They have determined that its motor vehicles emissions standards are at least as protective of public health and welfare as applicable Federal standards, that it needs such motor vehicle emissions standards to meet compelling and extraordinary conditions and that California's standards and accompanying enforcement procedures are consistent with the Clean Air Act.
The U.S. EPA Administrator must grant a waiver unless he finds that (a) the determination of the state is arbitrary and capricious, (b) the state does not need the state standards to meet compelling and extraordinary conditions, or (c) the state standards and accompanying enforcement procedures are not consistent with section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act. None of the above findings can be made.
Climate change could seriously impact public health and the environment in California; not to act on reducing emissions from the number one source of greenhouse gases in California would be arbitrary and capricious. Compelling and extraordinary conditions already exist as we are now seeing the effects of climate change globally. California's request is completely consistent with section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act.
Conclusions
Urgent action is needed to address one of the largest sources of greenhouse gases emissions in the nation. Yet, EPA has dragged its feet for 18 months on this issue and has yet to make a decision on the waiver. The matter is urgent and we cannot afford to wait. It is bad enough that the EPA and the Bush Administration have done nothing to effectively address climate change. It is unconscionable and immoral to bar the states from taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The EPA should approve the waiver so that states do their job of protecting the health and welfare of their citizens.
We applaud the work and leadership of the California Air Resources Board and the Schwarzenegger administration on this issue. New Mexico will support them every step of the way to achieve success in implementing the California car standard. Thank you for allowing me to testify on this important issue.
I look forward to your questions.
