EPA could argue California sued too soon over emissions-standards change, Professor Lin tells Daily Journal

  • by Carla Meyer

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency might argue California acted too quickly in suing the agency regarding a rollback to vehicle emissions standards, Professor Albert Lin told the Daily Journal.

California, leading a 17-state coalition, sued the EPA May 1, alleging agency chief Scott Pruitt violated the Clean Air Act in April when he rescinded the 2022-2025 federal standards for light-duty vehicles.

The EPA has suggested that a legal challenge would be premature because it still is in the process of determining new standards. Although the agency’s decision to disregard already finalized standards seems to invite legal challenges, Lin told the Journal that Pruitt’s action “has both final and non-final characteristics.”

Albert Lin is a professor at the UC Davis School of Law with special interests in environmental law, natural resources law, and evidence.