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The article reports that U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator, Stephen P. Johnson, ruled that California and 16 other states cannot set their own limits for carbon dioxide emissions from automobiles. The state's proposed standard was much stricter than that of current U.S. law. The states plan a legal challenge to Johnson's decision.

A federal investigation has found that a hazardous waste facility at the center of a birth defects controversy improperly disposed of a chemical known to cause cancer and reproductive problems. The Environmental Protection Agency sent a ''notice of violation'' Thursday to Chemical Waste Management in Kettleman City. At issue is the facility's handling of PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, a banned transformer fluid. Nearby residents have blamed the facility for at least 11 birth defects since 2007. Company officials have said there is no evidence linking the dump to the birth defects (AP) [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Reports that the state of California plans to sue the Environmental Protection Agency over the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. Decision by the administration of U.S. president George W. Bush that the E.P.A. lacks the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions; Participation in the suit by other states, and by environmental groups like the Sierra Club, and the Natural Resources Defense Council; Controversy over the limits of the Clear Air Act; California's leadership status regarding environmental protection measures.