On Friday, 19 union local presidents representing more than 10,000 EPA employees submitted a letter to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson accusing him of “abuses of our good nature and trust.” The complaint cited the California greenhouse gas waiver decision and several other issues, including the oversight of mercury emissions from power plants. It expanded upon a protest of the waiver decision submitted by a smaller group of EPA staffers in January.
That same Friday I happened to attend a forum at UC Davis on California’s greenhouse gas regulation efforts. Ken Davis, the point man on global warming lawsuits for the AG’s office, mentioned that the EPA had earlier that day submitted a 40-page declaration expanding upon its reasoning for denying the waiver. The EPA was calling the declaration its “final rule,” which, he speculated, was an effort to reset the clock on the AG’s appeal of the decision. He considered the move a shameless delaying tactic.
Clearly, we haven’t heard the last of the global warming fight between California and the EPA. Johnson is increasingly isolated: public opinion, state legislatures, and, of course, the world at large are moving in the opposite direction. Expect an increasing amount of high profile dissent from within the EPA as the political season unfolds–especially if it looks more likely that a Democrat will retake the White House.
