California sues EPA over authority to review air pollution waivers
California sued EPA after the agency sent four clean-car waivers to Congress, setting up a fight that could reshape vehicle rules, prices and emissions far beyond the state.
California sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in federal court in Washington, D.C., after EPA sent four California air-pollution waivers to Congress for possible repeal under the Congressional Review Act. California argues EPA had no authority to recast long-standing Clean Air Act waivers as ordinary rules.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Governor Gavin Newsom and the California Air Resources Board, and it was joined by a coalition of 10 attorneys general. California argued that EPA’s move was unlawful and that congressional disapproval would weaken the state’s ability to cut air pollution and vehicle emissions. EPA transmitted four waiver rules to Congress on June 12, 2026, covering cars, trucks, lawn mowers and other equipment.
The state's emissions standards often become the template for other states. Automakers are already trying to hedge billions of dollars between electric and gasoline-powered fleets as they plan product lines, supply chains and pricing.
On June 12, 2025, President Donald Trump signed three Congressional Review Act resolutions disapproving California waivers covering Advanced Clean Cars II, the Omnibus heavy-duty vehicle and engine standards, and the Advanced Clean Trucks rule. California and 10 other states sued over that rollback as well.
California's clean-vehicle program includes Advanced Clean Cars II, which the California Air Resources Board approved in 2022 and which became effective on Nov. 30, 2022. The rule is designed to phase in zero-emission requirements so that 100% of new passenger vehicles sold in California are zero-emission by the 2035 model year. California's off-road rules also extend into lawn and garden machinery: small off-road engines are spark-ignition engines at or below 19 kilowatts used in outdoor power equipment. Under Clean Air Act Section 209, states are generally preempted from setting their own motor-vehicle emissions standards, except California, which can seek waivers from EPA.
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