Biden's EPA faces lawsuit over new emission standards: 'Forcing a switch'



The American Petroleum Institute, along with a coalition of energy and trucking groups, recently filed lawsuits against the Biden administration's Environmental Protection Agency to block its new emission standards.

The groups filed a lawsuit on Thursday in the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit against the EPA's finalized emission standards for light- and medium-duty vehicles. On Tuesday, they filed another lawsuit in the same court against the latest emission requirements for heavy-duty vehicles.

'Devastate the reliability of America's supply chain and ultimately increase costs.'

The Biden administration announced in March that it had finalized the "strongest ever greenhouse gas standards" for freight trucks and buses, Blaze News previously reported. The restrictions impact vehicles for model years 2027 through 2032. The EPA also touted its "strongest ever" emission standards for passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and other medium-duty vehicles.

According to the administration, its recently finalized standards will "avoid more than 7 billion tons of carbon emissions and provide nearly $100 billion of annual net benefits to society, including $13 billion of annual public health benefits due to improved air quality, and $62 billion in reduced annual fuel costs, and maintenance and repair costs for drivers."

The standards will require up to 56% of all new car sales to be electric or other zero-emissions alternatives between 2030 and 2032, Reuters reported.

A number of other groups, including Exxon Mobil, Chevron, the American Farm Bureau, the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, the National Corn Growers Association, and many others, joined the legal action against the EPA.

Ryan Meyers, API's senior vice president and general counsel, stated, "The EPA is forcing a switch to technology that simply does not presently exist for these kinds of vehicles — and even if it were someday possible, it will almost certainly have consequences for your average American."

Meyes said API is taking the action to "protect American consumers, U.S. manufacturing workers and our nation's hard-won energy security from this intrusive government mandate."

National Corn Growers Association President Harold Wolle said, "EPA has tried to impose a one-size-fits-all approach to addressing climate change by prioritizing electric vehicles over other climate remedies like corn ethanol."

Todd Spencer, president of the OOIDA, expressed concern that the strict regulations would force small-business truckers, who make up 96% of trucking, "out of existence."

"This rule would devastate the reliability of America's supply chain and ultimately increase costs for consumers. Mom-and-pop trucking businesses would be suffocated by the sheer cost and operational challenges of effectively mandating zero-emission trucks, but this administration appears intent on forcing through its deluge of misguided environmental mandates," Spencer remarked.

The EPA declined a request for comment from Reuters.

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Judge blocks Biden's emissions rule forcing states to set greenhouse gas reduction targets



A federal judge on Monday blocked the Biden administration's new emissions rule that would have required states to set greenhouse gas reduction targets to receive federal highway funding, the Daily Caller News Foundation reported.

What's the background?

The day before Thanksgiving, the Biden administration's Federal Highway Administration announced new regulations forcing state departments of transportation to "establish declining carbon dioxide" goals, Blaze News previously reported. The White House and the rule's supporters touted the measure as having "flexibility" because it did "not mandate how low targets must be."

According to the new rule, the targets and the progress made toward those targets would "be used to inform the future investment decisions of the Federal Government."

Critics argued that the Biden administration was using the rule to force Americans to switch to electric vehicles or public transportation.

Republican North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer released a statement in November accusing the "Biden bureaucracy" of "returning to their stale playbook of inventing illegal, punitive regulatory schemes."

"This final rule is contrary to congressional intent, usurps state authority by putting the federal government in the driver's seat, and is fundamentally unworkable in rural states like North Dakota," Cramer added.

Emissions rule faces legal challenge

A coalition of 21 states filed a lawsuit in December against the president, the United States Department of Transportation, and the Federal Highway Administration, claiming the agencies lacked the authority to regulate emissions or force states to follow the new measures, Courthouse News Service reported.

The plaintiff states in the case included Kentucky, South Dakota, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron (R) argued that the rule would impact "the American economy" by requiring states to "make choices about projects, contracts, and regulations in order to meet the declining targets."

"Any mandated decline in on-road CO2 emissions will disproportionately affect states with more rural areas," Cameron wrote in the suit.

"States with fewer metropolitan areas have fewer options available to them to reduce CO2. Many of the ideas for how states can decrease GHG emissions — congestion pricing, road pricing, ramp metering, increased coordination with transit and non motorized improvements, paying fees to scrap low mileage heavy duty vehicles — are options more conducive to metropolitan areas, not rural ones," he continued. "Low population densities limit the efficacy of public transit and congestion pricing as options that would reduce vehicle miles traveled and, consequently, CO2 emissions."

United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky Judge Benjamin Beaton, appointed by former President Trump, blocked the Biden administration's rule on Monday.

In his opinion, Beaton declared, "Even assuming Congress gave the Administrator authority to set environmental performance standards that embrace CO2, the Administrator exercised that authority in an arbitrary and capricious manner."

Beaton agreed that the rule lacked a statutory basis. However, he did not enjoin the regulation's enforcement or vacate it.

A spokesperson for the Federal Highway Administration told the DCNF, "The Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration remain committed to supporting the Biden-Harris Administration's climate goals of cutting carbon pollution in half by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050."

"We are reviewing the court's decision and determining next steps," the spokesperson added.

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Biden's EPA finalizes 'strongest ever' emission standards for freight trucks, buses



The Biden administration's Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday that it finalized the "strongest ever greenhouse gas standards for heavy-duty vehicles," including freight trucks and buses.

A recent press release from the agency explained that the new restrictions will impact vehicles for model years 2027 through 2032.

"The standards will avoid 1 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions and provide $13 billion in annualized net benefits to society related to public health, the climate, and savings for truck owners and operators. The final standards will also reduce dangerous air pollution, especially for the 72 million people in the United States who live near truck freight routes, bear the burden of higher levels of pollution, and are more likely to be people of color or come from low-income households," the EPA claimed.

According to the agency, the strict standards will still grant trucking companies the "time and flexibility" to comply with the new restrictions.

EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan stated that the emission standards would "significantly cut pollution from the hardest working vehicles on the road."

"Building on our recently finalized rule for light- and medium-duty vehicles, EPA's strong and durable vehicle standards respond to the urgency of the climate crisis by making deep cuts in emissions from the transportation sector," Regan added.

The EPA announced last week the "strongest-ever" vehicle emission standards for passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty vehicles for model years 2027 through 2032, Blaze News previously reported. It claimed the clampdown would "avoid more than 7 billion tons of carbon emissions and provide nearly $100 billion of annual net benefits to society, including $13 billion of annual public health benefits due to improved air quality, and $62 billion in reduced annual fuel costs, and maintenance and repair costs for drivers."

Republicans, who are largely opposed to the EPA's new plan, called the standards on passenger vehicles an electric vehicle "mandate."

Regan denied the claims, stating that the emission regulations are "clearly" not an EV mandate because there are "multiple pathways companies can choose to comply."

The American Trucking Association, a national trade group for the trucking industry, slammed the EPA's restrictions as "entirely unachievable given the current state of zero-emission technology, the lack of charging infrastructure & restrictions on the power grid."

"We are fully committed to the road to zero emissions, but the path to get there must be paved with commonsense," the ATA continued in a post on X. "While we are disappointed with today's rule, we will continue to work with EPA to address its shortcomings and advance emission-reduction targets and timelines that are both realistic and durable, and that account for the operational realities of our industry."

In addition to freight trucks, the emission standards will also impact school buses, delivery trucks, garbage trucks, utility trucks, shuttles, ambulances, recreational vehicles, and moving vans.

Under the EPA's new rules, approximately 25% of long-haul freight trucks and 40% of medium-sized trucks could be zero-emission vehicles by 2032.

Todd Spencer, president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers' Association, told the New York Times that the EPA's restrictions will hit small business owners the hardest.

"This administration seems dead set on regulating every local mom-and-pop business out of existence with its flurry of unworkable environmental mandates," Spencer said.

The Department of Energy released an energy grid plan earlier this month to build the infrastructure for electric- and hydrogen-powered long-haul freight trucks. The administration's strategy involves installing charging and refueling stations along 12,000 miles of high-traffic roads over a 16-year period.

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Biden rolls out ‘strongest-ever’ vehicle emission standards to ensure most new cars are electric by 2032



The Biden administration’s Environmental Protection Agency finalized on Wednesday the “strongest-ever” vehicle emission standards, which will force most new car sales to be electric vehicles by 2032.

The EPA announced the “final national pollution standards for passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty vehicles for model years 2027 through 2032 and beyond.” The department referred to the regulations as the “strongest-ever pollution standards for cars,” despite scaling back the requirements by allowing for a more extended rollout after automakers called its initial proposal impractical.

It claimed that the restrictions would “avoid more than 7 billion tons of carbon emissions and provide nearly $100 billion of annual net benefits to society, including $13 billion of annual public health benefits due to improved air quality, and $62 billion in reduced annual fuel costs, and maintenance and repair costs for drivers.”

The EPA also claimed that drivers, on average, would save $6,000 in fuel and maintenance costs over the life of a vehicle.

EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan stated that the department’s new regulations would “solidify America’s leadership in building a clean transportation future and creating good-paying American jobs, all while advancing President Biden’s historic climate agenda.”

“The standards will slash over 7 billion tons of climate pollution, improve air quality in overburdened communities, and give drivers more clean vehicle choices while saving them money. Under President Biden’s leadership, this Administration is pairing strong standards with historic investments to revitalize domestic manufacturing, strengthen domestic supply chains and create good-paying jobs,” Regan claimed.

He assured reporters that the slower implementation would not impact the EPA’s pollution reduction targets.

“Let me be clear: Our final rule delivers the same, if not more, pollution reduction than we set out in our proposal,” Regan stated, the New York Post reported. “Folks, these new standards are so important for public health, for American jobs, for our economy and for our planet.”

Republicans have referred to the new standards as an “EV mandate,” arguing that it will artificially inflate demand for electric vehicles by forcing American consumers to move away from gas-powered cars.

Regan responded to critics, saying, “You know, maybe some would like for it to be an EV mandate, but that clearly is not the case, when you look at the multiple pathways companies can choose to comply.”

“We are staying well within the confines of the law and our statutory authority by not mandating a specific technology,” he claimed.

President Biden’s National Climate Advisor, Ali Zaidi, applauded the president for “investing in America” and supporting the middle class by backing unions. Zaidi stated that Biden’s “agenda is working” to provide Americans with more vehicle choices.

The regulations, which target gas-powered vehicles, were created to push drivers to switch to hybrid- and electric-powered alternatives. Officials expect that the standards will ensure that more than 56% of new cars sold are electric by 2032.

O.H. Skinner, the executive director of the Alliance for Consumers, told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the new emission standards are the Biden administration’s way of “doubling down” on its effort to “forcibly remove from the market a majority of the cars that everyday consumers currently buy and use.”

Skinner disputed the administration’s claims that the push to EVs would save Americans money.

“While an extreme EV mandate might be popular in progressive enclaves, and with federal employees who live in Washington, D.C., a shift to electric vehicles along the lines EPA has announced will make lives worse for everyday consumers while costing them more for the privilege of having their lives inconvenienced,” Skinner told DCNF.

Last week, the Biden administration rolled out an energy grid plan for electric- and hydrogen-powered long-haul freight trucks, Blaze News previously reported. The 16-year infrastructure plan aims to install charging and refueling stations along 12,000 miles of high-traffic corridors.

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House Passes Bill To Protect Gas-Powered Cars Amid California’s Electric Vehicle Push

'One state should not be able to set national policy'