[NYTr] Fed Appeals Court rebukes Bush fuel economy plan

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

AP via USA Today - Nov 16, 2007
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/judicial/2007-11-16-fueleconomy_N.htm

Court rebukes Bush fuel economy plan

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A federal appeals court has sharply rejected the
Bush administration's new pollution standards for most sport-utility
vehicles, pickups and vans and ordered regulators to draft a new plan
that's tougher on auto emissions.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration failed to address why the
so-called light trucks are allowed to pollute more than passenger cars
and didn't properly assess greenhouse gas emissions when it set new
minimum miles-per-gallon requirements for models in 2008 to 2011.

The court also said the administration failed to include in the new
rules heavier trucks driven as commuter vehicles, among several other
deficiencies found.

Judge Betty Fletcher wrote that the administration "cannot put a thumb
on the scale by undervaluing the benefits and overvaluing the costs of
more stringent standards."

Charles Miller, a Justice Department spokesman, said the administration
was in the process of reviewing the decision. "We will consider all of
our options," he said.

California and 10 other states, two cities and four environmental
groups sued the administration after it announced the new fuel economy
standards last year.

"It's a stunning rebuke to the Bush administration and its failed
energy policy," California Attorney General Jerry Brown said.

The court ordered the administration to draw up new rules as soon as
possible, but automakers complained Thursday they're already deep into
developing light trucks through 2011 based on the new standards.

"Any further changes to the program would only delay the progress that
manufacturers have made toward increasing fleet-wide fuel economy,"
said Dave McCurdy, president and chief executive of the Alliance of
Automobile Manufacturers. McCurdy said the industry is dedicated to
developing more fuel efficient automobiles, "but adequate lead time is
necessary in order to fully integrate these technologies into the
marketplace."

Former Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta announced to much fanfare
the new rules in March 2006, proclaiming they were the "most ambitious
fuel economy goals" yet for SUVs and their ilk. Mineta called the plan
"pragmatic," balancing fuel conservation against auto industry costs
and jobs.

The standards required most passenger trucks to boost fuel economy from
22.5 mpg in 2008 to at least 23.5 mpg by 2010. Passenger cars are
required to meet a 27.5 mpg average.

"The idea of raising vehicle efficiency 1 mile per gallon is pathetic
and shocking," said Brown, who along with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is
suing the Bush administration over its refusal to act on California's
fuel economy plan for cars in the state.

The court ordered the White House to examine why it continues to
consider light trucks differently than cars. Regulators made a
distinction between cars and light trucks decades ago when most trucks
were used for commercial purposes.

NHTSA had argued that it considered the intent of the manufacturer in
making light trucks, rather than their actual highway use, in
developing the new fuel standards.

"But this overlooks the fact that many light trucks today are
manufactured primarily for transporting passengers," Fletcher wrote for
the three-judge panel.

Fletcher also wrote that the administration failed to consider the
benefit to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

"It did, however, include an analysis of the employment and sales
impacts of more stringent standards on manufacturers," Fletcher wrote.

The court also took the administration to task for refusing to include
in the new standards trucks weighing more than 8,500 pounds, a class
that includes the Hummer H2, Ford F250 and other popular large vehicles.

The court ordered NHTSA to develop fuel standards for these large
trucks or give a better reason than the agency's argument that it has
never regulated those large trucks and that more testing needs to be
done.

"This historic ruling vindicates our fight against fuel economy
standards that are a complete sham and a gift to the auto industry,"
said Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who also joined
the lawsuit.

Along with California and Connecticut, plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed
last year include Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New
Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, New York City, the
District of Columbia and several environmental groups.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press.