Section 209 of the Clean Air Act generally preempts states from setting their own emission standards for motor vehicles. However, under Section 209(b), the EPA may grant California a waiver to establish its own standards if California demonstrates a need to address “compelling and extraordinary conditions.”

In 2022, the EPA granted California a waiver to set greenhouse gas emission standards and enforce a zero-emission vehicle mandate, aiming to combat perceived global climate change. Fuel producers challenged this waiver, arguing that it violated Section 209(b). However, the D.C. Circuit dismissed the challenge on procedural grounds, holding that fuel producers lacked Article III standing because they failed to show how vacating the EPA waiver would directly affect automakers’ actions.

The question before the Supreme Court in Diamond Alternative Energy, LLC v. EPA is whether a party may establish the redressability component of Article III standing by relying on the indirect, coercive, and predictable effects of regulation on third parties.

For more information, please contact Chantel Febus or James Azadian.