Iowa, along with 18 other states, is taking legal action against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for supporting California’s planned ban on heavy diesel trucks. The lawsuit alleges that the EPA is seeking to regulate traditional trucking “out of existence” through mandates for net-zero emissions standards.
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
