States Sue Biden Administration Over Fuel Efficiency Standards
WASHINGTON — More than two dozen states sued the Biden administration on Monday, challenging its push to encourage consumers to transition to electric vehicles.
The lawsuit, filed in the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, seeks to block a new rule issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The new vehicle fuel economy standards for model years 2027-2031 were announced last month, with the agency predicting they would save Americans more than $23 billion in fuel costs while also reducing pollution.
Under the new rule announced June 7, fuel economy will increase 2% per year for model years 2027-2031 for passenger cars, while light trucks will increase 2% per year for model years 2029-2031.
These increases will bring the average light-duty vehicle fuel economy up to approximately 50.4 miles per gallon by model year 2031, the agency said.
Heavy-duty pickup truck and van fuel efficiency will increase 10% per year for model years 2030-2032 and 8% per year for model years 2033-2035.
This will result in a fleetwide average of approximately 35 miles per gallon by model year 2035, it added.
The states, however, contend the new rules impose unworkable standards that leverage the weight of the federal government to require auto manufacturers to produce EVs.
“Our federal government should not be issuing overreaching mandates that manipulate the free market,” said Wyoming’s Republican Gov. Mark Gordon, one of the plaintiffs in the case.
“Wyoming residents drive thousands of miles each year through remote areas. They should be able to decide what vehicle technology is most suitable for their needs, not the Biden administration,” he said.
In January, he joined 15 other Republican governors in signing a letter to President Joe Biden opposing the proposed rule, calling the mandates “unrealistic, costly and prescriptive solutions that harm American consumers.”
There are approximately 1,000 EVs registered in Wyoming, which account for just over one-tenth of 1% of total vehicle registrations in the state.
The coalition comprises Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.
The states’ lawsuit, follows a complaint filed last week by the National Corn Growers Association and the Texas Corn Producers Association in the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals challenging.
Like the states, the associations contend the new standards appear designed to phase out liquid fuel-powered vehicles.
The associations’ filing followed two even earlier lawsuits led by the American Farm Bureau Federation, the American Petroleum Institute and auto dealerships challenging the EPA’s light-duty and heavy-duty vehicle rulemakings.
“Once again, we have a federal agency trying to force a one-size-fits-all solution on the American consumer through the final NHTSA CAFE rule and fuel efficiency standard, which favors electric vehicles,” said Minnesota farmer and National Corn Growers Association President Harold Wolle.
“Because ethanol effectively lowers greenhouse gas emissions and combats climate change, it accounts for one-third of corn growers’ demand. We are concerned that NHTSA could be putting the country on the path to eliminating this demand, which would be a major financial blow to corn growers,” Wolle said.
Dan can be reached at [email protected] and @DanMcCue
