A coalition of energy and trucking groups is suing the Biden administration over its recently-finalized emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks.
The groups — which include the American Petroleum Institute, the American Farm Bureau, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and the National Corn Growers Association — filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to block the agency’s tailpipe emissions rules for heavy-duty trucks, which the agency finalized in March. Provided it withstands legal challenge, the rules will require truck manufacturers to considerably increase the share of their fleets that are electric vehicles (EV) or zero-emissions models by 2032, a timeline that critics say is far too tight given that green trucking technology is in its infancy and costly.
“EPA’s final rule exceeds the agency’s statutory authority and is otherwise arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, and not in accordance with law,” the complaint states. “Petitioners accordingly ask this Court to declare unlawful and vacate EPA’s final action.”
Specifically, the EPA’s rules will force manufacturers to ensure that up to 25% of new long-haul trucks sold and 40% of all new medium-sized truck sales are electric or zero-emissions models by 2032, according to The New York Times. The regulation is “entirely unachievable” because of inadequate charging capacity and the present lack of commercially viable technology that would be needed to get to the EPA’s targets, according to American Trucking Association CEO and president Chris Spears.
“Small business truckers make up 96% of trucking and could be regulated out of existence if the EPA’s unworkable heavy-duty rule comes into effect,” Todd Spencer, the president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, said of the lawsuit filed Tuesday. “This rule would devastate the reliability of America’s supply chain and ultimately increase costs for consumers. Mom and pop trucking businesses would be suffocated by the sheer cost and operational challenges of effectively mandating zero emission trucks, but this administration appears intent on forcing through its deluge of misguided environmental mandates.”
Currently, the percentage of all heavy-duty trucks sold in America that are EVs or powered by zero-emission technology is about 2%, according to The New York Times. Away from heavy-duty models, the EPA has also issued stringent regulations for light- and medium-duty vehicles that will similarly require manufacturers to significantly increase EV production over the next decade.
API and other trade associations have also filed suit to block the rule for light- and medium-duty models.
The EPA declined to comment, citing the ongoing nature of the litigation, and the White House did not respond to a request for comment.
