PAPER CHASE NEWSBURSTDigest RSS feedFull RSS feed
Serious law. Primary sources. Global perspective.


Thursday, November 15, 2007

US appeals court throws out proposed fuel emissions standards for light trucks, SUVs
Kiely Lewandowski at 4:09 PM ET

Photo source or description
[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] threw out planned federal fuel economy standards [NHTSA materials] for light trucks and SUVs Thursday, ruling that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) [official website] did not adequately consider the environmental impact of the proposed standards. The ruling came in a lawsuit [JURIST report] brought by several states and environmental groups, which argued that the NHTSA ignored the effects of carbon dioxide emissions and certain SUV and truck classes when calculating the new fuel emissions standards. The new standards were due to go into effect next year and require an increase in the average fuel economy for all US passenger trucks from 22.2 miles per gallon to 23.5 miles per gallon by 2010.

In its opinion [PDF text], the Ninth Circuit wrote:
We hold that the Final Rule is arbitrary and capricious, contrary to the [Energy Policy and Conservation Act] in its failure to monetize the value of carbon emissions, failure to set a backstop, failure to close the SUV loophole, and failure to set fuel economy standards for all vehicles in the 8,500 to 10,000 gross vehicle weight rating ("GVWR") class. We also hold that the Environmental Assessment was inadequate and that Petitioners have raised a substantial question as to whether the Final Rule may have a significant impact on the environment. Therefore, we remand to NHTSA to promulgate new standards as expeditiously as possible and to prepare a full Environmental Impact Statement.
AP has more.



Link | |  | print | subscribe | RSS feeds | latest newscast | Facebook page

For a one-stop snapshot of the latest legal news that matters, with breaking documents, new legal videos, live law-related webcasts, commentary by expert law professors and more - all updated through the day in real time, with no ads and no registration barriers - visit JURIST's homepage and check back often...


LATEST LEGAL NEWS

 Former Intel executive pleads guilty to insider trading in Galleon probe
3:30 PM ET, February 9

 ICC considering investigation into recent Nigeria violence
2:04 PM ET, February 9

 Philippines prosecutors charge 197 for November massacre
1:39 PM ET, February 9

 click for more...

Get JURIST legal news on your intranet, website, blog or news reader!

LATEST FORUM

A Solomonic Judgment on Elections in Iraq

Chibli Mallat
U. Utah College of Law

ABOUT

Paper Chase is JURIST's real-time legal news service, powered by a team of 30 law student reporters and editors led by law professor Bernard Hibbitts at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. As an educational service, Paper Chase is dedicated to presenting important legal news and materials rapidly, objectively and intelligibly in an accessible, ad-free format.

CONTACT

Paper Chase welcomes comments, tips and URLs from readers. E-mail us at JURIST@pitt.edu