EPA Supreme Court Decision

The automotive industry has been buzzing with the recent EPA Supreme Court ruling. The decision was complex and we got a lot of questions from our podcast audience. We sat down with Attorney Stewart Cables, who specializes in emission cases, and asked for his opinion and what it means for shops, manufacturers and truck owners. This post is all about the EPA Supreme Court ruling, what was found constitutional and unconstitutional.

The case involved states (with West Virginia leading the argument) that the EPA overstepped its authority in regards to power plant regulations. The issue revolved around the EPA wanting coal plants to move away from that technology to other forms of energy – such as natural gas or green renewables. The states argued this authority was not given to the EPA under the Clean Air Act and would restrict and negatively affect the states, businesses and people. Stewart explained to us that the EPA Supreme Court had three parts, with two pertaining to the power plants and what the EPA couldn’t do. In essence, they ruled the EPA could not make law or enforce something Congress did not give it the power to regulate.

As it pertains to the automotive and the diesel industry, what the Supreme Court found constitutional is crucial. The decision stated the EPA could and did have authority given by Congress to regulate emissions. This means it could enforce the Clean Air Act on diesel trucks, cars and other forms of transportation. After the decision was given, a lot of people thought the Supreme Court ruled the EPA could not enforce emissions and that would lead to less restrictive diesel trucks. This was not the case, and in fact, the Supreme Court ruled the EPA has the power to regulate vehicle (and other) emissions.

What does this mean for the diesel industry and truck owners? It means the EPA can still dictate what new (and old) diesel trucks can emit for emissions, emission systems and tampering with them. We have seen diesel shops and manufacturers be fined for making or installing emissions defeat devices. Nothing in the EPA Supreme Court decision changed this enforcement and prosecution.

However, the good news with this ruling is the Supreme Court affirmed, that an agency cannot make regulations outside of the power given to it by Congress. This means if automotive enthusiasts want to see changes, they have to get involved in the political landscape, talk with their elected officials, and encourage legislation to protect their interests. The RPM Act is one piece of such legislation on the table. As diesel enthusiasts and owners, being involved in the political process is the way to change what we can build, modify or race. The EPA Supreme Court ruling could also impact other government agencies and what they can and cannot enforce. It remains to be seen how this decision may affect other agencies and their enforcement or interpretation of laws. There are also potentially other cases that will be heard from the Supreme Court that may have more impact on diesel trucks. It can be difficult to know if the court will hear the cases or how it will progress through the process. But this recent ruling was not the silver lining some had hoped for.

This decision was a lot to process due to the scope and depth of the decision. We wanted to speak with an expert familiar with emission cases and make sense of what it meant for the diesel industry.

This post is about what we learned from the recent EPA Supreme Court ruling and how it impacts the diesel industry.