ELR Citation: ELR 20175
No(s). s. 09-2234, 10-163 (E.D. Cal. Jun 16, 2010)

A district court denied California's motion to dismiss a lawsuit challenging its low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS) regulations under the state's Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. The regulations focus on the "carbon intensity" of fuels to estimate emissions related to a fuel's lifecycle. In response to plaintiffs' preemption and Commerce Clause claims, the state argued that because CAA §211(c)(4)(B) explicitly authorizes California to enact regulations related to fuels, and because the regulation is a fuels regulation targeting the lifecycle of carbon emissions related to motor vehicle fuels, the regulations are neither preempted nor subject to the Commerce Clause. But CAA §211(c)(4)(B) does not grant California unfettered authority to regulate fuels, and the plaintiffs successfully pled that the LCFS regulations do not come within the §211(c)(4)(B) preemption exception. Life-cycle analysis of the LCFS does not regulate a component of a fuel. Rather, the LCFS regulates how fuels that have identical chemical compositions are made. Further, plaintiffs sufficiently state a claim that implementation of the LCFS regulations would frustrate the full effectiveness of the CAA. The state also failed to establish by clear and unmistakable evidence that Congress intended to exempt the regulations from scrutiny under the Commerce Clause.