Post-Chevron Briefs Needed in Vehicle Emissions Challenges

Parties in two related lawsuits over vehicle emissions standards must submit briefs explaining how the Supreme Court’s decision overturning the Chevron doctrine may impact their cases, the D.C. Circuit said.

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said Monday that parties to the two suits, Texas v. EPA and Natural Resources Defense Council v. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, must consider “to what extent, if any,” the Supreme Court’s ruling “is relevant to the issues of statutory interpretation presented in these cases.” The Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo overturned a 40-year precedent defining regulators’ power to interpret ambiguous laws.

The court also asked the parties to examine the impact of its own decision in Ohio v. EPA, which considered standing to sue over an Environmental Protection Agency rule protecting downwind states from ozone pollution that crosses state lines. The Supreme Court blocked that rule in June.

Both cases in front of the appeals court concern vehicle emission regulations. The Texas suit is challenging the EPA’s rule unveiled in 2021 that set light-duty vehicle efficiency standards through model year 2026, though the agency last April issued an updated rule through model year 2032. The NRDC case examines the NHTSA’s use of outside metrics in fuel efficiency standards.

The parties were given 21 days to submit their briefs.

The cases are Texas v. EPA, D.C. Cir., No. 22-01031, Order 7/29/24 and Nat. Res. Def. Council v. NHTSA, D.C. Cir., No. 22-01080, Order 7/29/24.