Court Rejects EPA Suit Over Calif. Emissions Waiver

A lawsuit intended to prevent California’s adoption of stricter vehicle emission standards failed April 9, court records show. 

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in Ohio v. EPA that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the right to grant California a waiver. That waiver will enable the state to move forward with implementation of its Advanced Clean Trucks rule. 

The suit was filed by two groups challenging the EPA’s standards: 17 states challenging the rule, and multiple industry interests, such as fuel providers. 

While the suit accused the EPA of violating a “constitutional requirement that the federal government treat states equally in terms of their sovereign authority” by only granting the waiver to California, the court found that the parties lacked standing to raise their claims. 

Besides Ohio, 16 other states were plaintiffs in the case: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.