Justice Dept. Battles Vermont on Emissions Ruling

The Justice Department today filed an amicus (friend-of-the-court) brief asking a Federal Appeals Court to set aside a ruling granting Vermont the ability to establish its own regulations on greenhouse gas emissions. The Bush Administration is siding with the auto industry, which backed the recent CAFE standards. California and Vermont have attempted to supersede this via waiver. The EPA invalidated the waiver for California in December. The original ruling had tied Vermont to California. The government’s amicus brief is here.