Dive Brief:
- States must file greenhouse gas emissions reduction plans with the Federal Highway Administration by Feb. 1, despite lawsuits challenging the policy, an agency spokesperson told Trucking Dive in an email last week.
- Lawsuits against the FHWA and federal Department of Transportation last month by Texas as well as a group of 21 states have challenged the process, saying the agencies never received the authority from Congress to regulate this area.
- The reporting requirement means state transportation departments must file targets for decreasing their greenhouse gas emissions in areas involving interstates and the National Highway System. But the coalition of states has moved to obtain a preliminary injunction.
Dive Insight:
Republican attorneys general from nearly two dozen states are challenging federal policy, but not all GOP colleagues participated in the collective suit. Absent from the lawsuit were Louisiana, Georgia, Missouri, New Hampshire and Tennessee.
In a court filing, the coalition of states noted that while the National Highway System encompasses only 4% of the nation’s roads, “more than 40 percent of all highway traffic” and “75 percent of heavy truck traffic” use that roadway system.
A judge will hold a status conference Friday to discuss the next steps in the litigation, according to an order. In a court filing requesting the preliminary injunction, states said federal agencies “dramatically overstepped their statutory authority” with the emission rule.
The FHWA is seeking to put states on track with Biden administration climate policy, requiring them to report on plans to lower emissions. That's putting vehicles into states' radar for how regional officials might address carbon dioxide emissions in the long term.
