Since 2012, rigorous Clean Car Standards have reduced pollution and saved Americans hard-earned money at the gas pump. The Trump administration tried to roll back these protections and undermine states’ long-standing authority to enact more protective standards.
EDF partnered with a broad coalition to defend clean car standards in court. We also intervened in state court to defend Colorado’s right to adopt strong standards. Our advocacy exposed fatal flaws in the rollbacks, and helped pave the way to re-establishing strong standards.
The Biden administration is now reconsidering the Trump rollbacks. EDF will continue advocating protective standards in judicial and administrative forums, working toward 100% zero-emitting new cars by 2035 and new trucks and buses by 2040.
Earlier legal and administrative resources »
State Authority Cases
D.C. Circuit Court Cases
UCS v. NHTSA, No. 19-1230, and consolidated cases
Filings on Feb. 1, 2021 Abeyance Motion
- Order Granting Abeyance
Feb. 8, 2021 - EPA and NHTSA’s Reply in Support of Abeyance
Feb. 5, 2021 - Ohio et al.'s Opposition to Abeyance
Feb. 3, 2021 - EPA and NHTSA’s Motion to Hold Case in Abeyance
Feb. 1, 2021
Merits Briefs
- Joint Appendix
Oct. 20, 2020 - NGOs’ and States’ Reply Brief
Oct. 13, 2020 - Industry Petitioners’ Reply Brief
Oct. 13, 2020 - Automakers’ and AFPM’s Respondent-Intervenor Brief
Sept. 22, 2020 - Ohio et al.’s Respondent-Intervenor Brief
Sept. 21, 2020 - Amicus Brief of U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Support of Respondents
Sept. 16, 2020 - Amicus Brief of Urban Air Initiative in Support of Respondents
Sept. 16, 2020 - EPA and NHTSA’s Brief
Sept. 9, 2020 - Amicus Brief of California Climate Scientists
July 6, 2020 - Amicus Brief of Lyft
July 6, 2020 - Amicus Brief of Former Secretaries of DOT and Former Administrators of EPA
July 6, 2020 - Amicus Brief of Institute for Policy Integrity
July 6, 2020 - Amicus Brief of National Association of Clean Air Agencies
July 6, 2020 - Amicus Brief of Thomas Jorling, Michael Walsh, Margo Oge
July 6, 2020 - Amicus Brief of Members of Congress
July 6, 2020 - Corrected Amicus Brief of National League of Cities et al.
July 28, 2020 - Amicus Brief of Professor Leah Litman
July 6, 2020 - Amicus Brief of Edison Electric Institute
July 6, 2020 - Amicus Brief of Health and Medical Organizations
July 2, 2020 - Amicus Brief of National Parks Organizations
July 1, 2020 - NGOs' and States' Brief
June 29, 2020 - NGOs’ and States’ Statutory Addendum and Standing Declarations
Nov. 24, 2020 - Industry Petitioners' Brief
June 26, 2020
Administrative Record Filings
- Order on Briefing Format and Administrative Record Motions
May 20, 2020 - Petitioners’ Reply in Support of Motion to Complete Administrative Record
March 16, 2020 - EPA and NHTSA’s Response to Motion to Complete Administrative Record
March 9, 2020 - Petitioners’ Joint Motion to Complete Administrative Record
Feb. 27, 2020 - EPA and NHTSA’s Corrected Certified Indexes to Administrative Record
Feb. 26, 2020 - EPA and NHTSA’s Certified Indexes to Administrative Record
Jan. 9, 2020
Filings on Abeyance and Expedition Motions
- Order Denying Motions to Expedite and to Hold in Abeyance
Feb. 4, 2020 - NGOs’ Reply in Support of Abeyance
Jan. 17, 2020 - States’ Reply in Support of Abeyance
Jan. 17, 2020 - Automakers’ Reply in Support of Expedition
Jan. 17, 2020 - EPA and NHTSA’s Reply in Support of Expedition
Jan. 17, 2020 - NGOs’ Opposition to Expedition
Jan. 10, 2020 - States’ Opposition to Expedition
Jan. 10, 2020 - Industry Petitioners’ Opposition to Expedition
Jan. 10, 2020 - Automakers’ Opposition to Abeyance
Jan. 10, 2020 - EPA and NHTSA’s Opposition to Abeyance
Jan. 10, 2020 - Industry Petitioners’ Joinder in Abeyance Motions
Jan. 3, 2020 - NGOs’ Motion to Hold Case in Abeyance
Dec. 26, 2019 - States’ Motion to Hold Case in Abeyance
Dec. 26, 2019 - Automakers’ Motion to Expedite
Dec. 24, 2019 - EPA and NHTSA’s Motion to Expedite
Dec. 18, 2019
Filings on Case Management
- Order Consolidating Cases
June 3, 2020 - NGO and Industry Petitioners’ Motion to Consolidate Cases
June 2, 2020 - NGOs’ Protective Petition for Review
May 28, 2020 - Industry Petitioners’ Protective Petition for Review
May 28, 2020 - Parties’ Notice of Consent to Amicus Filings
May 26, 2020 - Order on Briefing Format and Administrative Record Motions
May 20, 2020 - Automakers’ Opposition to Petitioners’ Second Supplemental Response on Briefing Format
May 11, 2020 - Ohio et al.’s Opposition to Petitioners’ Second Supplemental Response on Briefing Format
May 11, 2020 - EPA and NHTSA’s Opposition to Petitioners’ Second Supplemental Response on Briefing Format
May 11, 2020 - Petitioners’ Second Supplemental Response on Briefing Format
May 4, 2020 - Petitioners’ Supplemental Response on Briefing Format
Apr. 3, 2020 - Joint Briefing Proposal
March 6, 2020
Filings on Parties and Intervention
- Order Granting Automakers’ Motion to Withdraw
Feb. 22, 2021 - Automakers’ Motion to Withdraw
Feb. 2, 2021 - Automakers’ Updated Disclosure Statement
Dec. 4, 2020 - Automakers’ Updated Disclosure Statement
Nov. 25, 2020 - Order Granting Alaska’s Motion to Withdraw
Sept. 24, 2020 - Alaska’s Motion to Withdraw
Sept. 22, 2020 - Order Granting Ohio et al.’s and AFPM’s Intervention
Jan. 28, 2020 - Automakers’ Updated Disclosure Statement
Jan. 10, 2020 - AFPM’s Motion to Intervene
Dec. 13, 2019 - Ohio et al.’s Motion to Intervene as Respondents
Nov. 26, 2019 - Order Granting Automakers’ Intervention
Nov. 21, 2019 - CSAR’s Reply in Support of Intervention
Nov. 19, 2019 - NGOs’ Opposition to CSAR’s Intervention
Nov. 12, 2019 - Automakers’ Motion to Intervene
Oct. 31, 2019
Statements of Issues
- Power Companies’ Statement of Issues
Jan. 2, 2020 - NGOs’ Statement of Issues for EPA Action
Dec. 26, 2019 - NGOs’ Statement of Issues for NHTSA Action
Dec. 26, 2019 - States’ Statement of Issues
Dec. 26, 2019 - Air Districts’ Statement of Issues
Dec. 26, 2019 - Advanced Energy Economy’s Statement of Issues
Dec. 26, 2019 - NCAT’s Statement of Issues
Dec. 23, 2019
Petitions for Review
- Power Companies’ Petition for Review
Nov. 25, 2019 - Advanced Energy Economy’s Petition for Review
Nov. 25, 2019 - San Francisco’s Petition for Review
Nov. 25, 2019 - NGOs’ Petition for Review of EPA Action
Nov. 22, 2019 - States’ Petition for Review
Nov. 15, 2019 - NCAT’s Petition for Review
Nov. 15, 2019 - Air Districts’ Petition for Review
Nov. 15, 2019 - NGOs’ Protective Petition for Review of NHTSA Action
Oct. 28, 2019
D.C. District Court Cases
EDF v. Chao, No. 19-2907; California v. Chao, No. 19-2826;
SCAQMD v. Chao, No. 19-3436
Filings on Motion to Dismiss or Transfer
- Order Staying Case
Feb. 11, 2020 - Defendants’ Response to Notice of Developments in Related Litigation
Feb. 7, 2020 - States’ and NGOs’ Notice to Court of Developments in Related Litigation
Feb. 6, 2020 - Order for Hearing on Motion to Dismiss
Jan. 15, 2020 - Automakers’ Joinder in Motion to Dismiss
Dec. 6, 2019 - Defendants’ Reply in Support of Motion to Dismiss
Nov. 27, 2019 - NGO Plaintiffs’ Opposition to Motion to Dismiss
Nov. 14, 2019 - State Plaintiffs’ Opposition to Motion to Dismiss
Nov. 14, 2019 - Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss
Oct. 15, 2019
Filings on Parties and Intervention
- Order Granting Automakers’ Motion to Withdraw
Feb. 12, 2021 - Automakers’ Motion to Withdraw
Feb. 2, 2021 - Automakers’ Updated Disclosure Statement
Jan. 10, 2020 - Order Granting Power Companies’ and NCAT’s Intervention
Dec. 19, 2019 - Order Granting Automakers’ Intervention
Dec. 6, 2019 - Power Companies’ Motion to Intervene as Plaintiffs
Dec. 4, 2019 - Power Companies’ Proposed Complaint
Dec. 4, 2019 - Automakers’ Motion to Intervene in SCAQMD v. Chao
Nov. 29, 2019 - NCAT’s Motion to Intervene and Proposed Complaint
Nov. 15, 2019 - Automakers’ Motion to Intervene
Oct. 31, 2019
Complaints
- Air Districts’ Complaint
Nov. 14, 2019 - State Plaintiffs’ First Amended Complaint
Oct. 8, 2019 - NGO Plaintiffs’ Complaint
Sept. 27, 2019 - State Plaintiffs’ Complaint
Sept. 20, 2019
Denver County Colorado District Court
Freedom to Drive v. Colorado Air Quality Control Commission, No. 2019CV34156
Filings on Abeyance Motion
- FTD’s Status Report
Jan. 22, 2021 - FTD’s Status Report
Oct. 16, 2020 - FTD’s Status Report
July 17, 2020 - FTD’s Status Report
Apr. 16, 2020 - Order Granting Joint Motion for Abeyance
Jan. 16, 2020 - Corrected Joint Motion for Abeyance
Dec. 13, 2019 - NGOs’ Response in Support of Abeyance
Dec. 12, 2019 - State Defendants’ Motion to Hold Case in Abeyance or Dismiss
Nov. 22, 2019
Filings on Parties and Intervention
- Order Granting NGOs’ Intervention
Jan. 16, 2020 - NGOs’ Motion to Intervene
Dec. 12, 2019
Complaint
- FTD’s First Amended Complaint
Oct. 30, 2019 - FTD’s Complaint
Oct. 29, 2019
Federal Rollback
Competitive Enterprise Institute v. NHTSA (D.C. Cir. No. 20-1145) and consolidated cases
Filings on Feb. 19, 2021 Abeyance Motion
- Order Granting Abeyance
April 2, 2021 - EPA and NHTSA’s Reply in Support of Abeyance
March 8, 2021 - NGOs’ Opposition to Abeyance
March 1, 2021 - States’ Opposition to Abeyance
March 1, 2021 - EPA and NHTSA’s Motion to Hold Case in Abeyance
Feb. 19, 2021
Merits Briefs
- Amicus Brief of Ethanol Producers
Jan. 21, 2021 - Amicus Brief of Health and Medical Organizations
Jan. 21, 2021 - Amicus Brief of National League of Cities et al.
Jan. 21, 2021 - Amicus Brief of National Parks Organizations
Jan. 21, 2021 - Amicus Brief of Consumer Reports
Jan. 21, 2021 - Amicus Brief of Institute for Policy Integrity
Jan. 21, 2021 - Amicus Brief of Members of Congress
Jan. 21, 2021 - Amicus Brief of Scientists and Economists
Jan. 21, 2021 - Amicus Brief of Economists
Jan. 21, 2021 - Amicus Brief of Professor Michael Greenstone
Jan. 21, 2021 - Amicus Brief of Professor Jason Bordoff
Jan. 20, 2021 - NGOs’ Opening Brief
Jan. 14, 2021 - States’ Opening Brief
Jan. 14, 2021 - Industry Petitioners’ Opening Brief
Jan. 14, 2021 - CEI’s Opening Brief
Jan. 14, 2021
Administrative Record Filings
- Order on Briefing Format, Record Motions, and Ford et al.’s Intervention
Oct. 19, 2020 - States’ and NGOs’ Reply in Support of Record Motion
Sept. 25, 2020 - CEI’s Reply in Support of Record Motion
Sept. 25, 2020 - EPA and NHTSA’s Opposition to States’ and NGOs’ Record Motion
Sept. 18, 2020 - EPA and NHTSA’s Opposition to CEI’s Record Motion
Sept. 18, 2020 - CEI’s Motion to Complete Record
Aug. 28, 2020 - States’ and NGOs’ Motion to Complete and Supplement Record
Aug. 25, 2020 - EPA and NHTSA’s Certified Indexes to Administrative Record
July 6, 2020
Filings on Case Management
- Order on Briefing Format, Record Motions, and Ford et al.’s Intervention
Oct. 19, 2020 - EPA and NHTSA’s Reply on Briefing Format
Sept. 28, 2020 - Petitioners’ Reply on Briefing Format
Sept. 21, 2020 - Ford et al.’s Response on Briefing Format
Sept. 14, 2020 - Alliance for Automotive Innovation’s Response on Briefing Format
Sept. 14, 2020 - EPA and NHTSA’s Response and Motion on Briefing Format
Sept. 14, 2020 - Petitioners’ Motion on Briefing Format
Sept. 4, 2020 - Order Consolidating Cases
July 1, 2020 - Order Consolidating Cases
June 1, 2020
Filings on Parties and Intervention
- Order Granting Clean Fuels Development Coalition’s Dismissal
Jan. 28, 2021 - Clean Fuels Development Coalition’s Motion to Dismiss Petition
Jan. 14, 2021 - Order on Briefing Format, Record Motions, and Ford et al.’s Intervention
Oct. 19, 2020 - Order Granting Unopposed Motions to Intervene
Oct. 8, 2020 - Ford et al.’s Reply in Support of Intervention
July 16, 2020 - EPA and NHTSA’s Opposition to Ford et al.’s Intervention
July 9, 2020 - Ford et al.’s Motion to Intervene
June 29, 2020 - Ingevity’s Motion to Intervene
June 19, 2020 - NGOs’ Motion to Intervene in CEI Petition
June 1, 2020 - Declarations Supporting NGOs’ Motion to Intervene
June 1, 2020 - States’ Motion to Intervene in CEI Petition
May 29, 2020 - Alliance for Automotive Innovation's Corrected Motion to Intervene in CEI Petition
May 22, 2020 - Alliance for Automotive Innovation's Motion to Intervene in CEI Petition
May 22, 2020
Statements of Issues
- Clean Fuels Development Coalition’s Statement of Issues
July 31, 2020 - Power Companies’ Statement of Issues
July 1, 2020 - Advanced Energy Economy’s Statement of Issues
July 1, 2020 - NCAT’s Statement of Issues
July 1, 2020 - Air Districts’ Statement of Issues
July 1, 2020 - NGOs’ Statement of Issues for NHTSA Action
June 30, 2020 - NGOs’ Statement of Issues for EPA Action
June 29, 2020 - States’ Statement of Issues
June 29, 2020 - CEI’s Statement of Issues
June 22, 2020
Petitions for Review
- Clean Fuels Development Coalition’s Petition for Review
June 29, 2020 - Air Districts’ Petition for Review
May 28, 2020 - Power Companies’ Petition for Review
May 28, 2020 - NCAT’s Petition for Review
May 28, 2020 - Advanced Energy Economy’s Petition for Review
May 28, 2020 - NGOs’ Petition for Review of NHTSA Action
May 27, 2020 - NGOs’ Petition for Review of EPA Action
May 27, 2020 - States’ Petition for Review
May 27, 2020 - CEI’s Petition for Review
May 1, 2020