Federal clash in California: two legal cases could potentially align, as a notice is published in the Federal Register

California's Clean Truck Check rule, a testing requirement for trucks operating in the state, has sparked a legal dispute that involves several parties, including major truck manufacturers and the U.S. government.

The controversy began when four truck manufacturers—Daimler Truck, Volvo, Paccar, and International Motors—filed a lawsuit against the California Air Resources Board and California's Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, opposing the state's stricter emission regulations following the US federal government's revocation of California's waiver that allowed those rules.

The Clean Truck Partnership, a deal signed by OEMs in August 2023, is at the heart of the dispute. The partnership rested primarily on two waivers granted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). One of these waivers approved California's Omnibus NOx rule, which governs nitrogen oxide emissions, while the second permitted adoption of California's Advanced Clean Truck rule.

The Advanced Clean Truck rule is aimed at edging out internal combustion engines in favor of zero-emission vehicles by the mid-2040s. However, the Clean Truck Check rule, which requires trucks to download data on pollutants twice a year (to rise to four times per year), has been met with opposition.

The U.S. government argues that the Clean Truck Check rule's requirement for out-of-state trucks to comply with the test risks denying the United States' request for injunctive relief to remedy the irreparable harm it suffers from California's enforcement of preempted standards. The government has filed arguments with the federal district court for the Eastern District of California to keep a lawsuit challenging California's Clean Truck Partnership.

The EPA's Federal Register notice signaled it would approve California's State Implementation Plan except for the part that requires out-of-state trucks to comply with the Clean Truck Check. The fate of the waivers rests on the outcome of the Northern District lawsuit.

Meanwhile, the Eastern District court had asked for input as to why the lawsuit there should not be moved to California's Northern District. The U.S. government's argument is that the two cases should remain in their current venues due to different parties involved. The U.S. government also argues that since the state's capital city of Sacramento is in the Eastern district, actions taken by the state government—like the signing of the CTP—should be litigated in that jurisdiction.

A lawsuit was filed by the state of California in the Northern District, challenging Congress' action to use the Congressional Review Act to yank waivers granted to the California Air Resources Board. The Northern District case arose from a vote that passed both houses of Congress in June and was later signed by President Donald Trump.

The Clean Truck Check rule is a significant part of California's efforts to reduce emissions and improve air quality. The outcome of this legal dispute may have far-reaching implications for the state's ability to enforce its emission regulations and for the future of clean truck technology in the United States.

Federal clash in California: two legal cases could potentially align, as a notice is published in the Federal Register