April 8, 2019—The state of California filed a lawsuit on Friday seeking to force two federal agencies to provide data they used to justify rolling back landmark Obama-era vehicle emission standards, reported Reuters.
In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Environmental Protection Agency failed to respond to a Freedom of Information Act request seeking data and analysis backing their proposal to freeze federal vehicle emission standards at 2020 levels through 2026.
In addition to weaker fuel efficiency standards, the Trump administration proposal would strip California of the ability to impose stricter rules, which a dozen other states have adopted, according to the report.
The EPA is on track to release final emissions rules by “spring or early summer,” administrator Andrew Wheeler told reporters on Thursday. Wheeler hopes California will not sue the EPA once it releases final requirements, but if it does he suggested California do it quickly “to ensure regulatory certainty.”
