Stating that there will be no more "dragging heels" by the federal government, President Obama on Monday directed the EPA to reconsider its denial of California's request to regulate carbon emissions. The memoranda calls on the agency to review the Cal EPA's request for a waiver from the Clean Air Act in order to allow the state to set stronger tailpipe emission standards.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger struggled for several years to get the EPA's approval, but fellow former President George W. Bush's administration was adamantly against it.

A decision in California's favor, which is basically now a foregone conclusion, would give similar leeway to states that want to adopt California's standards. The states that have done so are Arizona, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.

The move could open the way for implementation of California's wider plan for curbing greenhouse gas emissions, which would entail massive reporting requirements, followed later by a cap-and-trade system. It would be the first mandatory controls on non-hazardous GHG emissions in the United States.