U.S. Federal Courts Vacate Federal Highway Administration Greenhouse Gas Rule
On Tuesday, April 2, 2024, in Commonwealth of Kentucky v. Federal Highway Administration¸ No. 23-162 (W.D. Ky.), the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky vacated the Federal Highway Administration December 2023 Greenhouse Gas Rule (see our prior blog post here for a more detailed summary of the Rule). That rule, proposed in July 2022 and modeled off of a rule proposed by the Obama administration in 2017 but repealed by the Trump administration before it could take effect, sought to require each state to set declining targets for tailpipe carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles on the National Highway System. Tuesday’s ruling follows a similar one from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas on March 28, 2024, in State of Texas v. U.S. Dep’t of Trans. No. 23-304 (N.D. Tex.) that purported to vacate the rule nationwide.
The Newest Phase of EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards: Phase 3
On March 29, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its most recent national greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution standards for heavy-duty (HD) vehicles, including HD vocational vehicles and tractors. The rule establishes new CO2 emission standards for model year (MY) 2032 and later HD vehicles, with more stringent CO2 standards phasing in as early as MY 2027 for certain vehicle categories.
U.S. Department of Transportation Publishes Final Rule on State Greenhouse Gas Performance Measures
On December 7, U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) published a final rule providing state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) a national framework to track transportation-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and set targets for reduction. The rule adds a new GHG performance management measure to the existing FHWA national performance measures and creates a system under which state DOTs and MPOs must set targets for reducing roadway travel GHG emissions. Stakeholders that contract with states to build infrastructure should take note of these new mandates.
EPA Proposes Granting Louisiana Primacy Over Carbon Sequestration Well Program
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed to approve Louisiana’s request for control over the permitting of carbon sequestration wells in the state. EPA’s approval would provide Louisiana authority under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Underground Injection Control (UIC) program to administer a “Class VI” injection well program for the geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide, following similar such approvals for North Dakota and Wyoming. Stakeholders should take note of this proposed action because EPA approval of Louisiana’s program could advance carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) projects stymied by the backlog of permit applications pending before the EPA.
