Group files with Supreme Court to challenge CA's authority over national vehicle emission standards

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CALIFORNIA – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) announced September 4, that they filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court challenging California’s authority to set national vehicle emission standards.

The filing is on behalf of Diamond Alternative Energy – a subsidiary of Valero.

The amicus brief filing is in response to an April 2024 decision in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reaffirming California’s decades-old authority to set clean vehicle standards.

The brief argues that the court should review California’s Clean Air Act waiver, granted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which they claim is unlawful.

Likely that California will unlawfully force gas-powered vehicles out of the market

The recent appeals court decision in favor of the state reaffirmed California’s authority to establish stricter regulations for vehicle emissions than the national standard.

California’s goal is to eliminate the sale of gas-powered vehicles in the state by 2035.

“If this Court does not grant a reasonably rapid review of the merits of the agency’s action, it is likely that California will unlawfully force gas-powered vehicles out of the market in large portions of the country before this Court encounters the case at hand again,” reads a statement in the brief.

NFIB argues that millions of consumers regularly purchase fossil fuels so that they can drive on the nation’s roads.

“Fuel manufacturers are thus harmed by California laws that prohibit their products,” reads a statement in the brief.

In addition, they also question whether EPA's decision to grant California a waiver allowing it to bypass federal regulations, set its own greenhouse gas emission standards and zero-emission vehicle mandates is lawful.

Call to review the case

NFIB concludes with asking the court to review the case and and consider the two legal questions they've presented.

The case name is Diamond Alternative Energy, LLC v. EPA.

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