Governor Jim Douglas says Vermont will join a California lawsuit against the federal government over auto-emissions standards.
The state of California filed suit yesterday against the Environmental Protection Agency.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vowed last spring to take legal action.
At issue is whether California can impose the nation’s first greenhouse gas emission standards for cars and light trucks. The state has been seeking a waiver under the federal Clean Air Act for nearly two years. It wants to implement a 2002 state anti-pollution law regulating greenhouse gases.
If California succeeds in getting a waiver, more than a dozen other states, including Vermont, are poised to follow its lead.