U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman's (D-Los Angeles) ascension to the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Thursday was celebrated by California environmentalists who were frustrated for years by former Chair John Dingell (D-Mich.), a Detroit-area congressman with close ties to the city's auto industry.

"It's huge, just huge," David Allgood of the California League of Conservation Voters said. "I didn't dare hope that Henry was going to pull it off. It's really tough to unseat a powerful sitting chairman [and most senior member of the House]."

From his chairman's post, Dingell has consistently opposed stricter air pollution standards.

"Dingell's been a real impediment since 1981, (when he became the senior Democrat on the committee)," Allgood said. "We've seen no progress in making Detroit come to its senses."

While dethroning Dingell was an important step, said Allgood, replacing him with Waxman, "a  smart, crafty and really powerful" legislator with a pro-environment record, was just as significant.

"Henry has a deep understanding of these issues," Allgood explained. "He's going to be overseeing substantial chunks of what happens at the Environment Protection Agency, which has to sign off on a lot of what California does in regards to clean air measures, and he's very conversant with the workings of the federal government."

In recent years, the EPA has blocked the Golden State from enacting stricter emissions standards. Allgood is optimistic that Waxman, together a Democrat in the White House, "will remove a lot of stumbling blocks."

"I think it's really going to enhance California's ability to move it's environmental agenda forward," Allgood said.

And where California goes, Allgood argued, the rest of the country follows.

"California has pretty consistently lead the country on environmental matters, and Henry is a part of that mindset," Allgood said. "Add to that a president who came to office campaigning on a very strong environmental agenda, and you just hope it's not too late to accomplish everything we need to."