WASHINGTON _ California is cooperating with the federal government to clear a backlog of reports on its implementation of the Clean Air Act, likely avoiding cuts to highway funding threatened by the Trump administration late last year.
In a letter to Mary Nichols, chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board, obtained by McClatchy, the EPA said the two sides "have made great progress" toward resolving the backlog of "outdated, unnecessary or deficient" reports on the state's plans to combat pollutants.
"It's a big deal because it's a big chunk of the backlog," EPA spokesman Michael Abboud told McClatchy. "This is something that allows us to move forward in a good-faith effort, and this makes a nice little dent in it, although we have over 90-odd cases left."
