Press Release
Attorney General Ellison applauds Governor Walz’s clean-car standards, already defending them in court
Minnesota one of 22 states and 3 cities that filed suit late last week against Trump Administration attempts to preempt clean-car standards
September 25, 2019 (SAINT PAUL) — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison today applauded Governor Tim Walz’s directive to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to begin developing clean-car standards. Attorney General Ellison is already defending them in court: on Friday, September 20, he joined attorneys general from 22 states and the District of Columbia, and the cities of New York and Los Angeles, in suing to block the Trump Administration’s attempt to preempt any state’s or city’s ability to set higher clean-air standards for the purpose of fighting climate change and protecting their residents’ air quality, health, and environment.
“I applaud Governor Walz for taking a strong step forward today to fight climate change and protect the air, health, and environment of all Minnesotans in every part of our state — and I’m already defending it in court,” Attorney General Ellison said. “I joined the lawsuit last week to defend the principle that any state or city should have the flexibility to do more to fight climate change and to set higher standards for protecting their own air, health, and environment. The law currently allows this and I’m not letting the Trump Administration roll it back without a fight. With Governor Walz’s bold step today, Minnesota now has even more skin in the game and I’m even more motivated to fight and win for Minnesotans.”
The lawsuit challenges the Trump Administration’s regulation designed to preempt California’s greenhouse-gas emissions and Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) standards. These standards — authorized in 2013 by a waiver from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and followed in part or whole by 13 other states and the District of Columbia, and for which Minnesota is now in the rule-making process — are a critical part of state efforts to protect public health and the environment.
In the lawsuit, Attorney General Ellison and the coalition assert that the National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration Preemption Rule is unlawful and should be vacated on the basis that, among other things:
- ignores the authority and intent of Congress;
- flouts the National Environmental Policy Act by failing to assess or analyze the damage that the agency’s Preemption Rule will inflict on the environment and public health;
- acts arbitrarily and capriciously by failing to explain about-faces from its previous positions or its reasons for acting;
- fails to respect states’ authority to protect public health and welfare;
- and disregards the role these standards play in helping California and other states meet National Ambient Air Quality Standards.
The coalition that Attorney General Ellison joined includes the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia, and the cities of New York and Los Angeles.
