Environmental Leader

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that California’s new regulation that reduced emissions from ships is preempted te Clean Air Act, which allows California to set its own standards for various vehicles and engines if it receives waivers from the EPA, The Los Angeles Times reports.

The state argued that it didn’t need a waiver. The California Air Resources Board immediately stopped enforcing the ship rule. It will either appeal to the Supreme Court or seek a waiver from the EPA. The EPA denied the last waiver California requested, handing automakers a victory and denying California the right to set its own tougher-than-federal vehicle emission standards.

The Pacific Merchant Shipping Assn. had filed suit to block enforcement of the ship rule.

A recent study found that U.S. ports are a major source of pollution and GHG emissions in their cities and that progress on the problem has been slow.

Last year, the chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping said that the UN must enforce global regulations if the industry is to cut emissions.

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