The Republican majority in Congress and the return of Trump has CARB and its allies continuing to backpedal while simultaneously deploying teams of lawyers to defend a ZEV mandate on the trucking industry. The week before Trump’s inauguration, truckers breathed a big sigh of relief to hear that CARB withdrew its federal application to implement the Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) Regulation. Buried in the voluminous Executive Orders that Trump signed upon taking office was direction to his new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Zeldin to evaluate and return promptly with solutions to unwind several EPA and CARB overreaching, including the EV mandate. This month I explain how new federal legislation and continuing litigation is picking up steam and has promise to roll over CARB’s painful litany of regulations that have impacted WSTA members.
Bills to kill EV mandate: Three Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions have been passed by the Republican controlled Congress. One resolution garnered 35 Democrat votes in the House. The resolutions invalidate the CARB Advanced Clean Cars II, the Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT), and the Low N0x Omnibus regulations. On June 12, 2025 President Trump signed them into law. That same day, CARB and ten like-minded states filed a federal lawsuit calling the new laws an unlawful use of the CRA process. CARB is defending their program and seeking to continue implementing ACT and Omnibus regulations through their waivers previously approved by the Biden Administration. As a backstop CARB is claiming that its Clean Truck Partnership agreement with the OEMs remains valid and enforceable (see article on the CTP). The bottom line is that the federal government has made new law that CARB and their followers are actively trying to invalidate. Interestingly, former CARB Chair Mary Nichols observed in a recent interview that, “the state felt like they had all the cards in their hand, and then after the election, it was pretty hard to reset the conversation.” WSTA will continue our federal litigation and explore new opportunities to intervene in support of the current EPA Administrator overturning CARB’s authorizations.
Administrative Reviews by EPA: During the Obama Administration the EPA adopted a policy on greenhouse gas (GHG) that is commonly known as the “Endangerment Finding.” This policy adoption essentially determined GHGs to be pollutants that endangered the public and air quality. It did not include an economic analysis of clean power and clean transportation regulations that flowed from the adoption of the policy. WSTA understands that EPA Administrator Zeldin has recommended removal of this policy which will again likely result in legal action by environmental justice organizations. WSTA may find ourselves intervening in support of the EPA’s position. Among the possible outcomes could be the repeal of the GHG “Phase 3” Regulation that was passed by EPA in mid-2024 in which the truck OEM’s are mandated to meet fuel economy standards that they claim can only be met with high levels of ZEV truck manufacturing. Think of this as the Biden version of CARB’s ACT which the CRA has now outlawed.
Federal Litigation Update: WSTA legal counsel and staff are involved in the following federal matters.
Nebraska v. EPA, D.C. Circuit Case No. 24-1129. WSTA and CIAQC are petitioners, along with several other private parties and red states. This is a challenge to the EPA Greenhouse Gas Truck Emissions Rule that implements a Biden-era executive order essentially requiring electrification of trucks nationwide. The case is in abeyance pending the Trump Administration’s decision regarding what to do with this Biden-era rule. EPA must provide the court with status reports every 90 days.
Kentucky v. EPA, D.C. Circuit Case No. 24-1087. WSTA and CIAQC are petitioners along with several other private parties and red states. This is a challenge to EPA Greenhouse Gas Car Emissions Rule that implements a Biden-era executive order essentially requiring electrification of light and medium-duty vehicles nationwide, i.e., “50 percent of all new passenger cars and light trucks sold in 2030 must be zero-emission vehicles.” Like Nebraska v. EPA, the case is in abeyance pending EPA’s review of the Biden-era rule.
WSTA v. EPA, D.C. Circuit Case No. 23-1143. WSTA and CIAQC are the lead petitioners. This is a challenge to EPA’s approval of CARB’s Advanced Clean Trucks Rule, which requires California truck sales of 40%, 55%, and 75% (depending on the type of vehicle) to be zero emissions by model year 2035. This case also challenges EPA’s approval of California’s 2018 HD Warranty Amendments. The case is in abeyance pending the D.C. Circuit’s decision in two other cases, Ohio v. EPA, D.C. Circuit Case No. 22-1081, and Texas v. EPA, D. C. Circuit No 22-1031. However, the EPA waiver that is the subject of WSTA v. EPA was rescinded by resolution of Congress under the Congressional Review Act (CRA). If the CRA survives the CARB v EPA lawsuit filed on June12, 2025 (discussed above), the three waiver grants discussed in this paragraph will be effectively negated and our suit resolved.
Ohio v. EPA. WSTA filed an amicus brief on behalf of WSTA supporting the petitioners. That case was a challenge to the Biden Administration’s March 2022 approval of California’s waiver request for the Advanced Clean Car program that the Trump 1 Administration had rejected. The Court held in Ohio v. EPA that the private petitioners lacked standing. The Supreme Court held oral argument on the private party petitioners’ standing issue just a few weeks ago. We do not yet have a decision from the Supreme Court. If the Supreme Court holds that the private parties have standing, the case will go back to the D.C. Circuit for deliberation on the merits. This Biden-era waiver grant is not subject to the recent action of Congress under the CRA.
Nebraska v. CARB. This is one of two matters in which Nebraska has sued CARB. In the first action, Nebraska and a coalition of red states sued CARB regarding the impact on interstate fleets of the Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) ZEV purchase mandate that CARB passed in 2023 but withdrew from EPA review the week before Trump was inaugurated. On May 5, 2025 CARB agreed to repeal portions of the ACF in response to the Nebraska lawsuit. That notice gives CARB 15 months to accomplish a repeal or the action resumes. There is no commitment from CARB to refrain from ramrodding through a future ACF-style state regulation anytime in the future. A second Nebraska lawsuit against the Clean Truck Partnership alleging anti-consumer impacts is ongoing.
State Litigation Update: WSTA legal counsel and staff are involved in or monitoring the following state court matters.
Western Propane Gas Association v. CARB. In May 2025, CARB announced a settlement with the WPGA to pause enforcement of the Zero Emission Forklift Measure until it gets a federal waiver (which the current EPA is unlikely to grant and the HJR bills pending Trump’s signature would prohibit CARB from getting.
WSTA v. CARB. Filed in July 2023 in Fresno Superior Court, WSTA alleges that CARB conducted inadequate environmental, economic and scientific analysis of the ACF Regulation’s impact. WSTA’s legal comments to CARB with alternatives and demands to follow existing law were completely ignored. Because there is no current litigation to impede CARB from doing a pared down version of ACF anytime soon the litigation continues. Furthermore, CARB published guidance not approved by their Board that could have drawn owner operators and small fleets into what they claimed was a 50 truck and larger rule. CARB backed away from that in October 2024, scoring an early victory in WSTA’s efforts to protect its members.
Why we fight: CARB’s ACF withdrawal, while a welcome delay, does not resolve WSTA’s concerns about CARB. There is nothing to say that CARB will not simply wait a year or two and time a new ACF to coincide with the January 2029 exit of Donald Trump. Legal challenges to CARB’s zero emission vehicle mandates are moving closer to the courtroom. Since the COVID-era push to outlaw internal combustion of petroleum fuels, WSTA has participated in the federal and state legal proceedings in which CARB passed several zero emission mandates and the prior EPA rubber stamped them. WSTA should view the legal challenges as the opportunity to cut the head off the snake that has been biting you for decades by restricting CARB’s state and federal authority in a lasting way through victory in the courtroom.
Questions may be addressed to Sean@CleanFleets.net or (916) 718-7050.
