WASHINGTON _ A coalition of states led by California filed a lawsuit Friday against the Trump administration, challenging its decision to revoke a rule that empowers the state to set tougher car emissions standards than those required by the federal government.
The lawsuit seeks to defend California and the 13 other states that follow its car pollution rules from the administration's latest effort to loosen environmental regulations. By revoking a special waiver the state has relied on for years to set its own standards, the administration has launched an assault on California's role as an environmental leader in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality
"Two courts have already upheld California's emissions standards, rejecting the argument the Trump Administration resurrects to justify its misguided Preemption Rule," California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement. "Yet, the Administration insists on attacking the authority of California and other states to tackle air pollution and protect public health."
"Mr. President, we'll see you in court," he added.
The lawsuit was filed against the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which has been working with the Environmental Protection Agency on a proposal to weaken fuel efficiency standards set during the Obama administration.
While the announcement of that rollback was initially supposed to take place at the same time as the plan to revoke California's waiver, the administration decided to separate the two after experiencing repeated delays and setbacks. At a news conference Thursday at EPA headquarters in Washington, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said the administration was stripping California of its power to set auto emissions rules in order to lower the cost of new cars and put safer, cleaner cars on the road.
"We will not let political agendas in a single state be forced on the other 49," Chao said.
Hanging in the balance is whether California will continue to serve as a laboratory for tough new auto pollution rules and its regulations requiring automakers to sell more zero-emission vehicles and plug-in hybrids will survive. The state's goal is to have more than 1 million of the vehicles on the road by 2025.
California's special authority to go further than the federal government in regulating auto pollution dates back to the 1960s, when Los Angeles was enveloped in a thick layer of smog that state officials came to see as a public health crisis. By the time the 1970 federal Clean Air Act took effect, the state had already enacted its own tailpipe emission controls.
Concerned that each state would pass different regulations, Congress decided that the EPA would set vehicle pollution standards for the nation. But it carved out an exception for California, saying that the EPA would be required to grant the state a waiver to set its own rules, provided they were at least as stringent as the federal ones. Other states could choose to follow either California's regulations or those set by the EPA.
