ELR Citation: ELR 20110
No(s). 09-1090 (D.C. Cir. Apr 2, 2010)

The D.C. Circuit denied a trucking association’s petition to review an EPA decision authorizing under the CAA a California rule that regulated emissions from transportation refrigeration units (TRUs) in trucks. The rule required all TRUs carried on trucks operating in California to comply with the emission standards. Considering whether California needed the rule to meet compelling and extraordinary conditions in California, the court held that the CAA’s expansive statutory language gives California (and in turn EPA) a good deal of flexibility in assessing California’s regulatory needs. There is therefore no basis to disturb EPA’s reasonable interpretation of this criterion. In addition, considering the rule’s impact on the other states’ ability to follow or decline to follow California’s lead, the court held that the rule does not require any other state to adopt California’s approach: if the association’s members operate trucks in California, they must comply while operating in California; if they do not operate in California, they need not comply. In addition, EPA gave appropriate consideration to the cost of compliance with the rule. Although the costs of the rule are not insignificant, EPA’s duty under this portion of the statute is simply to consider the costs. It did so here.