Focus
Truck makers sue California in bid to abandon zero-emissions agreements
The Hill – August 12
A group of truck manufacturers filed a lawsuit on August 11 against California regulators contending that the state lacks the authority to enforce its heavy-duty vehicle emissions standards, which are stricter than federal standards. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, maintains that truck makers should not have to comply with the state’s emissions rules after the federal government rendered them “unlawful” in resolutions signed by President Trump in June. California officials immediately filed a lawsuit against the administration, along with ten other states, accusing the president of illegal interference. In their lawsuit, the truck manufacturers allege that they are in an untenable situation: “California demands that [truck manufacturers] follow preempted laws; the United States maintains such laws are illegal and orders [truck manufacturers] to disregard them.”
News
California’s signature climate effort is up for renewal — and it’s a fight
Los Angeles Times – August 14
For months, California lawmakers, industry groups, and environmental advocates have been mired in negotiations over whether and how to extend the state’s cap-and-trade program, which limits planet-warming emissions, beyond its 2030 expiration date. The program requires major polluters such as power plants, oil refineries, and other industrial facilities to purchase allowances, or credits, for each ton of carbon dioxide they emit, and lets those companies buy or sell their unused allowances at quarterly auctions. Governor Gavin Newsom is advocating for the program to be extended to 2045 and hopes to see it reauthorized before the end of the legislative session on September 12.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce strikes out in bid to duck California emissions disclosure
Courthouse News Service – August 13
A federal judge on August 13 denied a request for a preliminary injunction by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to block a pair of new California laws which require large businesses to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and report their climate-related financial risk. In his 41-page decision, U.S. District Judge Otis Wright II found that although Senate Bill 253, also known as the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act, and Senate Bill 261 regulate commercial speech, the Chamber has failed to show that the laws unlawfully restrict First Amendment speech. The case currently is scheduled for trial in October 2026.
Moss Landing battery fire: Work begins to remove and recycle 55,000 burned batteries from damaged oceanfront power plant
Santa Cruz Sentinel – August 14
Seven months after a fire at one of the world’s largest battery storage plants, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on August 13 that crews will soon begin removing more than 50,000 burned batteries from the Moss Landing site in a job that will take more than a year to complete. The batteries will be taken to hazardous waste disposal facilities outside California and many of their components will be recycled, EPA officials confirmed.
Martinez landfill company sued by regulatory agency over harmful air emissions
KRON - August 14
The Bay Area Air District filed a lawsuit on August 14 against Acme Fill Corp. in Contra Costa Superior Court alleging that Acme’s Martinez landfill illegally emitted “high levels of methane and other compounds.” The suit follows an August 24, 2023 compliance inspection which the district said revealed that the landfill’s gas collection system was leaking and discovered four other landfill surface leaks, all of which exceeded legal emission limits. The complaint seeks monetary penalties for alleged “multiple violations of state and local air quality regulations.”
Trump eases environmental reviews for the space industry
E&E News – August 14
The commercial space industry could be exempted from certain environmental reviews and freed from certain other regulatory restraints under an executive order signed by President Trump on Wednesday. The order directs federal agencies to assess for possible revision a variety of requirements currently imposed on rocket-launching companies. Notably, the order directs the Transportation Department to “eliminate or expedite the [department’s] environmental reviews for, and other obstacles” to the granting of launch and reentry licenses and permits.
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