DOJ sues CARB, sides with truck OEMs
Alleges ‘unlawful action to undermine federal law’
The Department of Justice filed two federal lawsuits this week against the California Air Resources Board, alleging illegal enforcement of emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks.
The lawsuits, filed in the Eastern District of California and the Northern District of Illinois, target California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) Clean Truck Partnership (CTP) with truck and engine manufacturers, according to a DOJ release.
The DOJ suits come on the heels of industry giants Daimler Truck, Paccar, Volvo Group and International Motors filing suit against CARB earlier this week, seeking injunctive relief from California’s heavy-duty emissions rules and CTP requirements.
Federal attorneys claim the CTP agreement wrongfully imposes emissions rules that President Donald Trump recently nullified when he overturned Environmental Protection Agency waivers for CARB’s Low-NOx Omnibus and Advanced Clean Trucks rules. Under the Clean Air Act, individual states cannot set their own vehicle emissions standards without an EPA waiver.
“Agreement, contract, partnership, mandate — whatever California wants to call it, this unlawful action attempts to undermine federal law,” Adam Gustafson, acting assistant attorney general of DOJ’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, stated in the DOJ release. “President Donald Trump and Congress have invalidated the Clean Air Act waivers that were the basis for California’s actions. CARB must respect the democratic process and stop enforcing unlawful standards.”
A parallel filing in the U.S. Court of Appeals also addresses California’s light-duty vehicle standards, which officials claim are similarly preempted.
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