Court delay adds uncertainty to greenhouse gas regulations

Government sought 90-day delay in lawsuit to further review Obama-era regs

The Trump administration may be heading down the same path with the Environmental Protection Agency’s and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Phase 2 Greenhouse Gas Regulations (GHG) as it is with the light-duty standards following a U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia’s decision in the government’s favor this week.

The court approved a request for a 90-day delay on a lawsuit brought by the Truck Trailer Manufacturer’s Association and the Racing Enthusiasts Suppliers Coalition. Both groups have argued that EPA and NHTSA have exceeded their authority by seeking to regulate trailers, which do not have motors and are therefore outside the scope of emissions regulations. EPA and NHTSA asked the court for more time to review the rules, suggesting the administration may seek to modify or possibly cancel the rules, which go into effect beginning on Jan. 1, 2018.

President Donald Trump in March ordered a review of the light-duty vehicle rules put in place by the Obama administration. Those rules require fuel economy of new cars to average 54.5 mpg by 2025. The heavy-duty truck rules are more complex, and generally have been accepted by the industry.

However, unlike the Phase 1 rules which affected only tractors, the Phase 2 rules will impact trailers. That brought a challenge from TTMA. The association opposed the court delay requested by EPA and NHTSA.

In an April filing opposing the delay, TTMA said “its members would be unfairly prejudiced by a 90-day abeyance, absent some action by the agencies to defer trailer manufacturers’ compliance obligations by an equivalent time period.”

EPA said it needed the time to review TTMA’s request for reconsideration of the rule.

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