Here’s what you need to know:
- A coalition of 24 states and cities have sued the EPA to challenge the rescission of the 2009 Endangerment Finding, which rolled back Phase 3 GHG regs.
- EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin revoked the finding last month, citing 16 years of consumer choice restrictions and trillions in “hidden costs.”
- The states argue the rescission violates the 2007 Massachusetts v. EPA Supreme Court ruling and ignores decades of peer-reviewed science.
- The Truck & Engine Manufacturers Association will join the case, arguing Phase 3 mandates ignore market realities and restrict fleet operational needs.
The never-ending battle over vehicle emission regulations continues.
Just days after the U.S. Department of Justice announced a new lawsuit against California regarding the implementation and enforcement of its Advanced Clean Cars II waiver, a coalition of two dozen states, Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands and several major cities struck back, announced a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) action to rescind its 2009 Endangerment Finding.
In revoking the finding last month, President Donald J. Trump called the move “the single largest deregulation action in American history.” The removal of the finding rolled back all phases of those GHG emissions regulations, including the Phase 3 regulation that was set to be implemented in 2027.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said last month the “Endangerment Finding has been the source of 16 years of consumer choice restrictions and trillions of dollars in hidden costs for Americans,” while the agency stated its belief that the Obama Administration had exceeded the agency’s authority to combat “air pollution” that harms public health and welfare with the report — stating that power belongs with Congress.
But in this week’s lawsuit, states are aggressively pushing back against that assessment.
In revealing the lawsuit last week, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell stated the Endangerment Finding was the direct result of the landmark 2007 Supreme Court decision in Massachusetts v. EPA, which confirmed that the Clean Air Act authorizes EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions that endanger public health and welfare. A leader of the coalition behind the lawsuit, Campbell said the Endangerment Finding was a seminal determination that greenhouse gas pollution from motor vehicles drives climate change and endangers public health and welfare.
“Climate change is real, and it’s already affecting our residents and our economy,” she said. “When the federal government abandons the law and the science, everyday people suffer the consequences.”
California is another state supporting the suit, and its Attorney General Rob Bonta added, “With the unlawful rescission of the Endangerment Finding, President Trump and his EPA have abandoned their most important mission: protecting the health and welfare of the American people. The science doesn’t lie. Climate change and GHG emissions are harming public health and causing devastating and ever-worsening disasters.”
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The coalition believes the EPA has rushed its rule making process to rescind the Endangerment Finding and disregarded the law and science. They state the EPA’s rescission is based on flawed interpretations of the law — previously rejected by the Supreme Court — that the agency lacks authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.
“The Trump Administration is failing to protect everyday people across this country in countless ways, including through their unlawful attempts to unwind decades of science-based policy,” said Yana Garcia, California Secretary for Environmental Protection.
The coalition also states the rescission ignores decades of peer-reviewed scientific evidence confirming the reality and severity of climate change. By eliminating all existing and future federal motor vehicle greenhouse gas emission standards, the lawsuit states the rule violates EPA’s legal obligations, fundamental principles of administrative law and the agency’s mission to protect public health and welfare.
“President Trump’s decision to roll back the Endangerment Finding is putting us on a path toward more extreme heat, severe storms and devastating floods. It will hurt our ability to ensure clean air and clean water for our communities while increasing costs for homeowners, businesses and municipalities,” said Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey.
Added Bonta, “Our communities have felt the impact of destructive wildfires, watched families run from burning homes, inhaling toxic fumes, and we've seen entire communities wash away in severe floods. The President can’t keep his head in the sand — climate change is real and decades of settled science warned us this was coming.”
A day after the lawsuit was filed, the Truck & Engine Manufacturers Association (EMA) announced its intent to intervene, highlighting the functional limitations of the Phase 3 regulation. EPA stated the Phase 3 rule mandates a large and annually increasing portion of each manufacturer’s sales must be zero-emissions vehicles (ZEVs) but fails to account for the fact that manufacturers cannot meet the standard unless trucking fleets choose to buy them.
“The mandate compels a fundamental and economically significant market shift that restricts trucking fleets’ ability to select the type of vehicle that best meets their diverse business and operational needs,” EMA stated.
