Ag and biofuel groups sue Minnesota for adoption of California’s “zero-emission vehicle” mandate

In Minnesota, the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association (MSGA) has joined the Minnesota Service Station & Convenience Store Association and NACS, Clean Fuels Development Coalition, and ICM Inc., in filing a lawsuit against the state of Minnesota for its adoption of California’s “zero-emission vehicle” mandate.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, challenges the legality of Minnesota Pollution Control Agency rules requiring that new cars, light-duty trucks and medium-duty vehicles in the state meet emission limits set by California and match California’s requirements for the sale of a certain percentage of so-called “zero-emission vehicles,” as defined by California regulators.

The lawsuit contends that the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), which creates a uniform national standard for vehicle fuel efficiency, prohibits states from adopting policies “related to” federal fuel-economy standards. EPCA says that a “State or a political subdivision of a State” cannot “adopt or enforce a law or regulation related to fuel economy standards or average fuel economy standards.”

In EPCA, Congress expressly forbade the National Highway Safety Administration from considering the fuel economy of vehicles that run on “alternative fuels” (such as electricity) in setting fuel-economy standards, according to the lawsuit. The suit also challenges Congress’s decision to grant California – and only California – special authority to adopt its own motor-vehicle emission standards different from those set by the U.S. government.

This scheme, the lawsuit contends, violates the Constitution’s equal sovereignty doctrine because it grants California a greater degree of sovereignty and capacity for self-government than all other states.