ELR Citation: 54 ELR 20049
No(s). 5:23-CV-304-H (N.D. Tex. Mar 27, 2024) (Hendrix, J.)

A district court granted summary judgment for the state of Texas in a challenge to the Federal Highway Administration's (FHwA's) 2023 rule requiring states to measure, report, and set declining targets for the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by vehicles using the interstate and national highway systems. Texas argued FHwA lacked authority under 23 U.S.C. §150(c)(3) to enact the rule. The court found the plain language of §150(c)(3) made clear that performance of interstate and national highway systems focused on the effectiveness of facilitating travel, commerce, and national defense, not environmental outputs of vehicles using those systems, and thus that FHwA was not authorized to enact the 2023 rule. It granted summary judgment for Texas and vacated the rule.