UPDATE 3-California 'veered' out of its lane in climate pact with Quebec -U.S. lawsuit

The United States on Wednesday sued California and other state entities for entering a climate agreement with a Canadian province, saying the state had no right to conduct foreign policy, in the latest feud between Washington and the state. "The state of California has veered outside of its proper constitutional lane to enter into an international emissions agreement. The power to enter into such agreements is reserved to the federal government, which must be able to speak with one voice in the area of U.S. foreign policy," said Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark said in a statement.

The Justice Department said California, state officials, the California Air Resources Board, and the Western Climate Initiative Inc entered a complex, integrated cap-and-trade emissions-curbing climate program with Quebec in 2013 without congressional approval. In cap and trade markets, governments set a steadily declining limit on emissions, and polluters that cut emissions quickly can sell credits to others that need more time. The pact that links California and Quebec's emissions-trading programs is called the Western Climate Initiative.

In the lawsuit, the latest confrontation with California over the state's aggressive approach towards combating air pollution and climate change, President Donald Trump's administration argues that the constitution prohibits states from making treaties or pacts with foreign powers. California, the most populous state and one of the top 10 largest economies in the world, has positioned itself as a leader on climate change action in the absence of federal leadership on the issue.

Trump, a Republican who questions the science behind climate change, has eased regulations on the oil, gas and coal industries and intends to pull the United States out of the 2015 Paris agreement on climate change. The Trump administration in September said it would revoke California's authority to set strict car pollution rules that nearly two dozen states had adopted. Those states, including New York, New Mexico, and Minnesota, sued the administration to prevent Trump from blocking the California standard.

Last month, the Trump administration sent a letter to Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, accusing the state of violating clean water laws https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-epa-california/trump-epa-says-california-must-protect-water-better-from-homeless-waste-idUSKBN1WB1VR by allowing human waste from homeless residents to enter its waterways. California's Governor Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Xavier Becerra were not immediately available for comment, but they have both vowed repeatedly to defend California's right to adopt strong environmental protections.

Hundreds of former EPA employees are urging a congressional probe into whether the agency's feud with California represents retaliation for the state's failure to support Trump's political agenda. This marks the latest in a string of lawsuits that the Justice Department has filed against California throughout the Trump administration.

The department previously sued the state over so-called "sanctuary" laws that limit how state and local authorities cooperate with immigration officials The Justice Department has also sued over a state "net neutrality" law that aims to create an equal playing field to prevent major internet providers from blocking, slowing down or giving preferential access to online content.

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