November 22, 2019
CHICAGO — The Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC) along with a coalition of NGOs today filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s final rule which attempts to remove California’s authority to set environmental standards for vehicles. EPA’s rule revokes California’s waiver under the Clean Air Act, which allows the state to set vehicle greenhouse gas emissions and zero-emissions vehicle mandates that are stronger than federal standards. Because the U.S. EPA and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration also propose to weaken the federal vehicle emissions and fuel efficiency standards, it’s important to protect California’s ability to set stricter emissions standards, which the Clean Air Act then allows other states to adopt.
Today’s action follows a lawsuit filed November 15 by a coalition of states and cities to oppose EPA’s action. That coalition includes Illinois and Minnesota. ELPC earlier filed a petition for review in the District Court for the District of Columbia challenging the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration’s action published in the same rule.