Description: Challenges to EPA determination to withdraw its Mid-Term Evaluation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for Model Year 2022-2025 Light-Duty Vehicles because the standards appeared to be too stringent.
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California v. EPA
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 11/14/2019 Opinion Download Court reissued opinion dismissing petitions for lack of jurisdiction. 11/14/2019 Order Download Order issued directing that opinion be amended. 11/08/2019 Letter Download Letter submitted by State Petitioners requesting that the court amend the opinion. 10/25/2019 Opinion Download Petitions dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. D.C. Circuit Dismissed Challenges to EPA Withdrawal of Obama Administration’s Mid-Term Determination on Vehicle Emission Standards. The D.C. Circuit concluded that it did not have jurisdiction to consider the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) withdrawal of the Obama administration’s mid-term determination that model year 2022 to 2025 greenhouse gas emission standards promulgated in 2012 remained appropriate. The D.C. Circuit said the withdrawal was not a final agency action because it did not satisfy the second prong of the Supreme Court’s Bennett v. Spear test for final agency action, which requires that a final action determine rights or obligations or establish legal consequences. The court noted that the withdrawal did not itself change the emission standards established in 2012 but only created the possibility that the standards could be modified in the future, similar to an agency’s grant of a petition for reconsideration of a rule. The court was not persuaded by the petitioners’ arguments that the withdrawal satisfied the second prong because it had the direct legal consequence of requiring EPA to conduct rulemaking, because it created legal consequences for states that had to act quickly to put California’s standards in place in accordance with Section 117 of the Clean Air Act, and because it withdrew the Obama administration’s determination, which was itself a final agency action. 10/15/2019 Letter Download EPA filed response to petitioners' October 9 letter concerning EPA and NHTSA final actions. 10/09/2019 Letter Download Public interest organizations filed letter notifying court of EPA and NHTSA final actions. 09/03/2019 Letter Download Letter filed by EPA in response to petitioners' August 27, 2019 letter. 08/30/2019 Letter Download Letter filed by Association of Global Automakers, Inc. and Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers in response to petitioners' August 27, 2019. 08/27/2019 Letter Download Letter filed by petitioners regarding supplemental authority. 08/16/2019 Letter Download Letter filed by Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and Association of Global Automakers, Inc. in response to petitioners' August 7, 2019 letter. 08/13/2019 Letter Download Letter filed by EPA in response to petitioners' August 7, 2019 letter. 08/13/2019 Letter Download Order issued regarding panel assigned to hear the case. 08/07/2019 Letter Download Letter filed by petitioners regarding supplemental authority. 06/21/2019 Order Download Oral argument scheduled for September 6, 2019. D.C. Circuit to Hear Arguments on Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Standards on September 6. The D.C. Circuit scheduled oral argument for September 6, 2019 in the proceedings challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to withdraw the Obama administration’s Mid-Term Evaluation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for Model Year 2022-2025 Light-Duty Vehicles because the standards appeared to be too stringent. 04/15/2019 Brief Download Brief filed by intervenors Association of Global Automakers, Inc. and Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. 04/08/2019 Brief Download Initial brief filed by respondents. 02/14/2019 Amicus Brief Download Amicus brief filed in support of petitioners by Consumer Federation of America. 02/14/2019 Amicus Brief Download Brief filed by amici curiae National League of Cities et al. in support of petitioners. You can read here about the local governments’ brief, which was filed by attorneys at the Sabin Center, Columbia Environmental Law Clinic, and Morningside Heights Legal Services. 02/14/2019 Amicus Motion Download Motion filed by Lyft, Inc. to file as amicus curiae in support of petitioners. 02/07/2019 Brief Download Brief filed by public interest organizations petitioners. Briefs Filed in Support of Challenge to EPA Decision to Roll Back Greenhouse Gas Vehicle Standards. Parties challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA’s) decision to withdraw and revise its January 2017 Mid-Term Evaluation of greenhouse gas emission standards for 2022-2025 model year vehicles filed opening briefs in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. The briefs argued that EPA’s action—which concluded the 2022-2025 standards were not “appropriate”—was a final agency action and that the issues were ripe for judicial review. They contended that EPA violated procedural and substantive requirements of the regulations that set the framework for the Mid-Term Evaluation. They also argued that EPA’s revision of the 2017 determination was arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act because the new determination disregarded and was contradicted by the record; because it lacked reasoned analysis; and because it failed to offer a reasoned explanation for EPA’s reversal. 02/07/2019 Brief Download Brief filed by petitioners National Coalition for Advanced Transportation et al. 02/07/2019 Brief Download Brief filed by state petitioners. 11/21/2018 Order Download Order issued referring motions to dismiss to the merits panel. D.C. Circuit Merits Panel Will Hear EPA and Trade Groups’ Arguments for Dismissal of Lawsuits Challenging Withdrawal of Obama-Era Determination That Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Standards Remained Appropriate. In cases challenging EPA’s decision to withdraw its Mid-Term Evaluation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for Model Year 2022-2025 Light-Duty Vehicles, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals referred EPA and trade group motions to dismiss to the merits panel and directed the parties to address the issues presented in the motions to dismiss in their briefs rather than incorporating their arguments by reference. EPA issued the Mid-Term Evaluation in January 2017, just before President Trump took office. The Mid-Term Evaluation concluded that the 2022-2025 standards remained appropriate. EPA withdrew the Mid-Term Evaluation in April 2018, concluding that more recent information showed that the standards might be “too stringent.” EPA and trade groups sought to dismiss the challenges to the April 2018 action as premature and also argued that the petitioners did not have standing. 09/21/2018 Reply Download Reply filed in support of trade group movant-intervenors' motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. 09/21/2018 Reply Download Reply filed by respondents in support of motion to dismiss petitions for lack of jurisdiction. Briefing Completed on Motions to Dismiss Lawsuits Challenging EPA Actions Rolling Back Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards. Briefing on the motions to dismiss was completed on September 21 when EPA and auto industry trade groups filed replies, in which they asserted again that the challenged action was not a reviewable final action because EPA had not completed its decision-making process and the challenged action did not have legal consequences. 09/06/2018 Amicus Motion Download Motion filed by National League of Cities et al. for leave to participate as amici curiae. A coalition of local governments led by the National League of Cities sought leave to participate as amici curiae. They contended they had “strong interest in maintaining and improving” the emissions standards at issue in the case, on which the local governments “rely heavily” to meet their own emissions reductions targets. 08/29/2018 Opposition Download Opposition filed by state petitioners to motions to dismiss. States, environmental groups, utilities, and a coalition of companies supporting the development of electric vehicle and other advanced transportation technologies told the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals that their lawsuits challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) withdrawal of the Obama administration’s Mid-Term Evaluation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for Model Year 2022-2025 Light-Duty Vehicles was a final agency action and ripe for review. They therefore urged the D.C. Circuit to deny motions to dismiss their cases. Each set of petitioners also argued that they had standing to maintain their cases. 08/29/2018 Response Download Response filed by petitioners Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. et al. to motions to dismiss. 08/29/2018 Response Download Response filed by environmental group petitioners to motions to dismiss. 08/03/2018 Amicus Motion Download Motion filed by South Coast Air Quality Management District for leave to participate as amicus curiae in support of petitioners. The South Coast Air Quality Management District, which has jurisdiction over pollution from non-motor vehicle sources in the Los Angeles metropolitan area and surrounding counties, filed a motion for leave to participate as amicus curiae, telling the D.C. Circuit that its “time-locked plans” for meeting air quality standards depended “overtly and materially” on reductions associated with the greenhouse gas vehicular emissions standards at issue in the cases. 07/10/2018 Motion to Dismiss Download Movant-intervenors' motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. 07/10/2018 Motion to Dismiss Download Motion to dismiss filed by EPA. EPA and Trade Groups Moved to Dismiss Challenges to Withdrawal of Obama-Era Determination on Vehicle Emissions Standards. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and auto manufacturer trade groups asked the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to dismiss proceedings challenging EPA’s decision to withdraw the Mid-Term Evaluation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for Model Year 2022-2025 Light-Duty Vehicles, which the Obama administration issued in January 2017. The Mid-Term Evaluation concluded that greenhouse gas emissions standards promulgated in 2012 for model year 2022-2025 light-duty vehicles should be retained. In their motions to dismiss, EPA and the trade groups argued that the proceedings were premature because they merely challenged EPA’s decision to initiate a rulemaking. EPA also argued that the petitioners—which included states, environmental groups, utilities, and a coalition of electric vehicle and other “advanced transportation” companies—did not have standing. 05/01/2018 Petition for Review Download Petition for review filed. States and D.C. Challenged EPA Determination That Obama Administration Greenhouse Gas Standards for Vehicles Were Too Stringent. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia filed a petition for review in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) decision to withdraw the Mid-Term Evaluation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for Model Year 2022–2025 Light-Duty Vehicles. The Mid-Term Evaluation, which was issued in January 2017 prior to President Trump's inauguration, concluded that the 2022-2025 vehicle standards remained appropriate. In April 2018, EPA said it had reconsidered the standards and determined “that the current standards are based on outdated information, and that more recent information suggests that the current standards may be too stringent.” EPA indicated that it would work in partnership with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to promulgate new standards. EPA also indicated that this April 2018 revised determination was not a final agency action because its effect was “to initiate a rulemaking process whose outcome will be a final agency action.” -
National Coalition for Advanced Transportation v. EPA
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 05/03/2018 Petition for Review Download Petition for review filed. The National Coalition for Advanced Transportation—a “coalition of companies that supports electric vehicle and other advanced transportation technologies and related infrastructure”—filed a petition for review challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) action withdrawing the Obama-era determination that greenhouse gas standards for light-duty vehicles for model years 2022-2025 remained appropriate. In April 2018, EPA issued a revised determination finding that the standards appeared to be too stringent. The Coalition challenging this determination includes Tesla, Inc. and a number of utilities. -
Center for Biological Diversity v. EPA
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 05/15/2018 Petition for Review Download Petition for review filed. Seven organizations led by Center for Biological Diversity challenged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's decision to withdraw the Mid-Term Evaluation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for Model Year 2022–2025 Light-Duty Vehicles. -
Consolidated Edison Co. of New York, Inc. v. EPA
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 06/12/2018 Petition for Review Download Petition for review filed.