Overview
- California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Governor Gavin Newsom, and the California Air Resources Board filed a complaint in federal court in Washington, D.C., challenging the EPA’s recent administrative action.
- The EPA reclassified four long‑standing Clean Air Act preemption waivers as “rules” and transmitted them to Congress, a change that plaintiffs say exposes the waivers to disapproval under the Congressional Review Act.
- The waivers at issue cover CARB’s 2008 greenhouse‑gas standards for cars, the 2012 Advanced Clean Cars I rule and its 2022 partial reinstatement, and 2022 Small Off‑Road Engine amendments, all of which allow California to enforce tighter limits than federal rules.
- The complaint argues the reclassification violated the Administrative Procedure Act and exceeded EPA’s authority and asks the court to declare the action unlawful and restore the prior status quo treating waivers as agency orders.
- If the reclassification stands it could create market uncertainty for automakers and equipment makers and reduce air‑quality protections for communities already burdened by pollution, reversing decades of precedent in federal‑state regulation of vehicle emissions.