Lawsuit Filed in Response to US EPA Rollback of Tailpipe Emission Standards | frESH

On May 1, 2018, 17 states, including California, as well as the District of Columbia filed a Petition for Review in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in response to US EPA’s announcement that it would be rolling back tailpipe emission standards. As we previously reported, California stated in April that it was actively considering a lawsuit to challenge the decision to revise tailpipe emissions. The other states involved in the new lawsuit include Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington. In total, the coalition represents approximately 140 million Americans.

The Petition calls for review of the Agency’s Notice in the Federal Register entitled “Mid-Term Evaluation of Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards for Model Year 2022-2025 Light-Duty Vehicles.” In the Notice, US EPA withdrew its January 12, 2017 Final Determination of the Mid-Term Evaluation of Greenhouse Gases for MY 2022-2025 light-duty vehicles because the Agency concluded that the standards set forth in the Final Determination are no longer appropriate in light of the record before US EPA and should be revised.  US EPA also noted its intent to initiate a subsequent notice and comment rulemaking to further consider appropriate standards for MY 2022-2025 light-duty vehicles. In a press release, the California Office of the Attorney General characterized the Petition for Review as based on US EPA’s arbitrary and capricious action, failure to follow its own regulations, and violations of the Clean Air Act.

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