One week after the challenge of the Biden administration In opposition to the imposition of new emissions standards for cars and light vehicles, a coalition of concerns from agriculture, manufacturing and energy production has filed lawsuits to block the rules from applying to trucks and buses.
New Standards These rules apply to “heavy commercial vehicles,” including garbage trucks and bobtails.
While the Biden administration and its agencies have denied that the new rules represent a forthcoming “ban” on internal combustion engines, the plaintiffs were not convinced as they filed petitions this week in Washington, D.C., federal court.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) filed one of the suits, joined by the American Farm Bureau Federation, the Corn Growers Association, and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association.
EPA sued by consumer, manufacturing, agriculture coalition over Biden’s new vehicle emissions rule
The groups named the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Biden-appointed Administrator Michael Regan as defendants, while a group titled the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) named only the agency.
The latter suit involved groups involved with energy production on the Gulf Coast, marketing groups, the California Manufacturing Association, and machinists and aerospace workers unions.
The API-led action alleged that the EPA’s final rule on heavy vehicles violates federal law prohibiting “arbitrary and capricious” statutory provisions, and they petitioned the court to dismiss it.
AFPM’s court action claimed that the EPA’s new regulation unfairly imposes an electrification mandate on the nation’s trucking sector.
“The EPA does not have the authority under the Clean Air Act to restrict Americans’ access to or use of internal combustion engine technology,” AFPM General Counsel Rich Moskowitz told Fox News Digital.
“The heavy-duty vehicle (HDV) regulation finalized this spring aims to phase out American-made, American-produced trucks that run on diesel, biodiesel, renewable diesel and renewable natural gas (and) Americans will pay a heavy price for it.”
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Moskowitz said the EPA’s policies would put unnecessary strain on the national power grid, cause traffic problems and wrongly pursue sweeping policy changes without congressional approval.
An API representative echoed Moskovitz’s sentiments, telling Fox News Digital that the group is defending consumers who rely on trucks to deliver their everyday goods.
“The EPA is pushing for technology that doesn’t currently exist for these types of vehicles — and even if that were to someday become possible, it would almost certainly have a negative impact on the average American,” said Ryan Meyers, API senior vice president.
“Sadly, this is yet another example of this administration pushing unpopular policy orders that lack statutory authority, and we look forward to holding them accountable in court.”
An official of the maize growers group said that Rule This unnecessarily harms American grain farmers, who help supply the ethanol that is standard in American gasoline.
“The EPA has tried to apply the same approach to combating climate change by prioritizing electric vehicles over other climate measures such as corn ethanol,” said Harold Wooley, a Minnesota farmer and president of the National Corn Growers Association.
“Ethanol is not only important in the fight against climate change, but it also saves consumers money and benefits America’s rural economy. We look forward to taking this case to court.”
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In the official fact sheet covering the March announcement of the new emissions rules, the EPA called them “technology-neutral and performance-based”; allowing each manufacturer to choose which set of emissions control technologies is best suited to meet the standards and the needs of their customers.
“These greenhouse gas reductions would benefit all U.S. residents, including populations such as people of color, low-income people, Indigenous Peoples, and/or children, who may be particularly vulnerable to a variety of harms associated with climate change.”
The EPA did not respond to a request for comment on the truck rule lawsuit, but told Fox News Digital in response to the light-duty truck and car rule petition that the new rule does not negatively affect consumers or choice.
An EPA spokesperson said at the time, “By encouraging the continuing development of more efficient vehicles, EPA’s standards … accelerate the adoption of technologies that reduce fuel and maintenance costs as well as pollution.”
