At this time last year, most in the know assumed California would be granted its application for a waiver to impose a 30 percent reduction on CO2 emissions from vehicles in the state? After all, it had special status under the Clean Air Act that allowed officials to impose stricter regulations, thanks to the state's astoundingly poor air quality.

Filed way back in 2005, it took several lawsuits and appearances before Congressional committees to explain why the EPA took so long to reach a decision. The Supreme Court even got involved, ruling last year that the EPA had the authority to regulate CO2 as a pollutant, removing the final roadblock in EPA's path to grant the waiver. Before the ruling ever came out, leaked documents showed EPA had determined that "there is no legal or technical justification for denying the waiver.

But you know what happens when you assume -- you make an ass out of you and California.

Getting in under the wire of its promise to have the issue resolved by the end of 2007, EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson came out on December 19, 2007 and denied California's request. In an odd coincidence, Johnson made his decision the same day President Bush signed new CAFE standards into law, because what's the point of having a 36 mpg CAFE in 2016, when you can wait until 2020 for 35mpg?

Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) is convinced the White House is responsible for pressuring Johnson into his denial -- and in a move that is sure to please Ranking Member James "Global Warming is the Greatest Hoax Ever" Inhofe -- has promised to investigate Johnson's decision.

Boxer's concern is not without merit, as the White House was previously accused of eschewing law and using the Secretary of Transportation to lobby key members of Congress about the issue.

If Johnson does decide to step down, he'll at least be in good company. Former EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman left office in protest back in 2003, before it was even the cool thing to do, after the White House attempted to rollback the Clean Air Act. Although, we guess Johnson would be resigning in disgrace ... never mind.

Rest assured that there were some beneficiaries of EPA denying the waiver. Detroit has been sleeping easier, comforted by the fact that a messy patchwork of state regulations won't wreak havok on the industry and cause the auto industry to layoff millions of workers in order to meet the new regulations. They have other, better reasons for laying off workers anyway.

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