US appeals court rejects Calif ship emission rules

By Gina Keating

LOS ANGELES, Feb 27 (Reuters) - California must obtain approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency before enforcing new rules to require ships to burn cleaner diesel fuel as they enter and dock at the state's ports, a federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday.

The California Air Resources Board had sought to implement stricter air pollution controls within 24 miles of the state's coastline. The rules would require ships to use fuel in their auxiliary engines that emits lower levels of sulphur oxide, nitrogen oxide and particulate matter.

But the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal reinstated a lower court's injunction barring the state from enforcing its Marine Vessel Rules, finding that the Clean Air Act preempts them.

Auxiliary engines, which burn a dirtier residual fuel called bunker fuel, provide power for docked vessels and often run for several days as the ship is unloaded.

The Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, a group of owners and operators of ocean-going vessels, opposed the new state rules and demanded a national standard.

In a statement, PMSA president John McLaurin said the group was pleased with the ruling and would continue its "numerous" voluntary efforts to reduce emissions.

"This lawsuit was not about whether emissions from vessels should be reduced but about who should have the jurisdiction to impose and enforce requirements on international trade," the group said.

The maritime industry faces varying rules at U.S. ports to cut heavy sulphur emissions blamed for hundreds of deaths and cases of cardiac and lung disease each year in port communities.

The appellate decision forces California to seek a waiver from the EPA to implement the new standards, said David Pettit, senior attorney of the Natural Resources Defense Council, which intervened in the lawsuit.

NRDC has been pushing California ports to reduce emissions by supplying electricity to docked ships, enabling them to avoid running their diesel engines.

The proposed state emissions rules would provide a stopgap measure while California ports convert to greener power, a process that is proceeding "at a crawl," Pettit said. "It is much more efficient to tell the ships to use clean fuel," he said.

California and 16 other states already are locked in a legal battle with the EPA over whether they can enforce the first-ever limits on greenhouse gas emissions from cars.

EPA administrator Stephen Johnson rejected the request for a waiver of Clean Air regulations, saying a new national law, which raises automobile fuel standards by 40 percent by 2020 was a "better approach" than a "patchwork" of state rules. (Editing by Adam Tanner and David Gregorio)