Simultaneously, 17 state attorneys general filed a separate lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California against California’s Advanced Clean Fleets rule.

These legal actions occur at the same time as Republican legislators introduce resolutions aimed at blocking the EPA’s recent efforts to tighten emissions standards.

Hilgers explained that both lawsuits argue the Biden Administration and California regulators have overstepped their constitutional and statutory authority by attempting to mandate a nationwide transition to electric trucks.

He criticized the regulations as being out of touch with reality, citing inefficiencies, high costs, and potential negative impacts on Nebraska citizens, such as increased transportation costs, higher prices for goods, and added strain on the electric power grid.

The D.C. Circuit lawsuit targets the EPA’s rule enforcing stringent tailpipe emissions standards for heavy-duty vehicles, effectively compelling manufacturers to produce more electric trucks and fewer internal combustion trucks.

The California lawsuit challenges the state’s Advanced Clean Fleets regulations, which require certain trucking fleet owners and operators to phase out internal combustion trucks in favor of electric trucks.

The states joining Nebraska’s lawsuit include Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming are the states participating in the lawsuit against California alongside Nebraska. Additionally, the Arizona State Legislature and the Nebraska Trucking Association have joined this lawsuit.

Source: Truckers News

The post 24 States File Lawsuits Against EPA’s New Truck Emission Standards appeared first on Truck Drivers USA.

The group of states is represented by Republican attorneys general, led by Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers, who initiated a lawsuit against California’s Advanced Clean Fleets rule.

While the specifics of their argument have yet to be disclosed, the states intend to contest the EPA’s expanded truck emission standards on the grounds that they go beyond the agency’s authority. The review petition calls the rule “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion and not in accordance with law.”

Hilgers characterized the new standards as out of touch with reality, asserting that the mandated shift to electric trucks is both inefficient and costly. He further argued that this transition would disproportionately burden Nebraskans by inflating interstate transportation expenses, raising commodity prices, and straining the electric power grid.

“California and an unaccountable EPA are trying to transform our national trucking industry and supply chain infrastructure,” Hilgers said. “This effort – coming at a time of heightened inflation and with an already-strained electrical grid – will devastate the trucking and logistics industry, raise prices for customers and impact untold number of jobs across Nebraska and the country. Neither California nor the EPA has the constitutional power to dictate these nationwide rules to Americans.”

Under the EPA’s updated regulations, 25% of new sleeper-cab tractors must be zero-tailpipe-emission trucks by 2032. Although manufacturers have flexibility in meeting this requirement through various technologies, there is a significant emphasis on battery-electric vehicles, largely due to pricing and charging infrastructure.

Electric trucks currently cost approximately $400,000, more than twice the cost of a diesel-powered truck. When interest is factored in over a standard 60-month loan term, this price gap only widens.

Plus, electric trucks offer a significantly shorter range, covering less than 300 miles compared to a diesel truck’s capacity. Coupled with lengthy charging times, electric trucks would take four to five days to complete a 1,000-mile journey—a task that diesel-powered trucks can accomplish in just two days.

According to a cost analysis conducted by Ryder, transitioning to electric trucks would double the operating expenses for Class 8 vehicles, leading to a 1% rise in overall inflation as additional costs are passed on to consumers.

This legal challenge follows closely on the heels of Republican lawmakers’ introduction of a resolution aimed at overturning the EPA’s final rule. Senators Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) and Dan Sullivan (R-Ark.), along with Representative John James (R-Mich.), presented Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions to void the EPA’s strict emission standards for heavy-duty trucks and passenger vehicles. Sullivan ended his statement with a quote from the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association.

“Small-business truckers make up 96% of trucking and could be regulated out of existence if the EPA’s misguided mandate comes into effect,” said Todd Spencer, OOIDA president. “This could have devastating effects on the reliability of America’s supply chain and ultimately on the cost and availability of consumer goods. Local mom-and-pop trucking businesses would be suffocated by the sheer cost and operational challenges of effectively mandating EV trucks. We thank Sen. Ricketts and Sen. Sullivan for their leadership in Congress in standing up for America’s small-business truckers to fight EPA’s unworkable emission regulations.”

Source: Land Line

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Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird and her peers have filed a 51-page lawsuit against the EPA and its administrator, Michael Regan, in the U.S. Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia.

The states joining the lawsuit include Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Ohio, South Carolina, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.

“Iowa isn’t going to take a back seat as the EPA and California try to regulate truckers out of business. We’re pushing back,” Bird announced. “The EPA and California have no right or legal justification to force truckers to follow their radical climate agenda.”

Currently, only 2% of heavy trucks sold in the United Sates are electric.

“America would grind to a halt without truckers who deliver our food, clothes and other necessities. But rather than support our hard-working truckers, Biden continues to empty their wallets and force them to drive electric trucks for his radical climate change agenda,” Bird said.

On March 9, 2022, it was announced that the EPA has reinstated California’s ability to set its own greenhouse gas emissions standards and a mandate for zero-emission vehicle sales. This decision opens up the opportunity for other states to adopt similar regulations and reinforces California’s important role in reducing pollution from cars and trucks. Regan stated that the EPA is proud to stand behind California’s leadership in this critical issue.

“Our partnership with states to confront the climate crisis has never been more important. With today’s action,” he said, “we reinstate an approach that for years has helped advance clean technologies and cut air pollution for people not just in California, but for the U.S. as a whole.”

On April 28 of this year, the California Air Resources Board passed a regulation that requires diesel medium- and heavy-duty on-road vehicles weighing over 8,500 pounds to be gradually replaced by zero-emission vehicles. This mandate could have far-reaching implications, as eight other states have already adopted California’s truck ban, and more may follow suit.

“Costs for electric trucks already start at about $100,000 and can reach the high six figures. And even worse — California’s new regulations are setting the standard for the rest of the country. That makes California a major decision-maker for the future of the national trucking industry,” she said.

EPA’s actions backing California’s diesel truck ban also “will not only increase costs, but it will devastate the demand for liquid fuels, such as biodiesel, and cut trucking jobs across the nation,” Bird predicted. “Iowa’s trucking industry currently provides almost 100,000 jobs — that is almost one in 13 jobs in the state.”

Biodiesel, a renewable fuel made in the United States from environmentally friendly sources like vegetable oils and animal fats, is gaining popularity as a viable option for lower diesel truck emissions. Iowa is a major biodiesel producer, with other states also increasing their quantities. This replacement not only benefits the environment but also supports American farmers. Most heavy-duty diesel vehicles can run on biodiesel blends, with B5 being approved by all original equipment manufacturers and B20 being the most commonly used.

However, the attorney generals from 19 states are challenging California’s Advanced Clean Trucks regulation, claiming it violates the Clean Air Act and other federal laws. The lawsuit is now requesting the court to review the EPA’s actions in this matter.

“Biden’s EPA is attempting to use the California truck ban to force his radical climate change agenda onto the rest of the country. This disastrous Biden policy would devastate Kansas industries, destroy Kansas jobs and dramatically increase the cost of consumer goods for Kansas families,” said state Attorney General Kris Kobach.

He noted 70,000 Kansas jobs depend on the trucking industry. “California’s truck ban is reckless, and that’s why I am once again challenging a Biden policy,” Kobach said June 7.

Utah’s Attorney General, Sean Reyes, emphasized the significance of his state’s trucking industry to over 21,000 local jobs. Meanwhile, South Carolina’s Attorney General, Alan Wilson, expressed his disapproval of the diesel truck ban with firm words.

“There were more than 13 million trucks on U.S. roads in 2020, carrying the goods we all buy. Either we won’t be able to get the things we need, or the cost of those goods will be astronomical. This ban is another example of prioritizing the climate change agenda above everyday people,” Wilson said June 8. “If you think prices have been bad during the Biden administration because of inflation, imagine how crippling they’ll be if this illegal truck ban is allowed to stand.”

Source: Transport Topics

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