The U.S. Supreme Court, in Diamond Alternative Energy, LLC v. EPA, et al, recently declined to review whether the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) exceeded its authority by granting a preemption waiver for California’s greenhouse-gas emission standards and zero emission-vehicle mandate.
Under the Clean Air Act (“CAA”), “emission standard” refers to the legal limit on the amount of a specific air pollutant that can be released from a source, like a vehicle or factory. CAA Sections 209(b) and 209(e) permit the State of California to request a waiver or authorization from federal preemption of state-level regulatory programs for certain vehicle emissions. The EPA must grant the CAA waiver before California’s rules may be enforced.
Petitioners—a group of states led by Ohio and various fuel industry organizations led by American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers—asked the Court to review the D.C. Circuit Court’s April 2024 decision siding with the EPA. The Circuit Court had found that some petitioners lacked standing to pursue these claims, while others failed on the merits, and upheld the Agency’s authority to grant California this waiver.
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