LOS ANGELES (CNS) — Twenty-seven states and municipalities, including Los Angeles, joined Tuesday in filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration's attempt to block future regulation of industries that emit greenhouse gas emissions.
The rule created an "arbitrary" threshold to determine if an industry is considered a significant source of the emissions, according to Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer, who is part of the coalition of state and city attorneys that filed the lawsuit on President Donald Trump's last full day in office.
Industries that emit less than 3% of the U.S.' total greenhouse gas emissions will not be regulated under section 111 of the Clean Air Act, according to the new rule put in place by the Environmental Protection Agency.
"The Trump administration's last-ditch effort to undermine the absolutely essential fight against climate change is outrageous and must be overturned," Feuer said. "Fires are raging and oceans are rising. We have precious little time and can ill-afford to roll back reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. I look forward to working with the Biden administration to unwind the misguided policies of the past four years and help save our planet."
According to the lawsuit, the rule would prevent regulation of emissions from any sources other than power plants, and the EPA did not provide notice to the public or opportunity to comment, which is illegal under Clean Air Act procedures.
The coalition is led by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who is Biden's pick to be the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.
"The Trump administration is throwing mud against the wall and hoping it sticks," Becerra said. "While the EPA put forward a proposal to weaken standards for coal-fired power plants, the rule it finalized took an even sharper turn — throwing up new roadblocks for regulating GHG emissions from nearly all stationary sources without any notice or opportunity to comment.
"Conveniently, the Trump administration's chosen threshold for regulating GHG emissions would give the oil and gas industry a free pass," he said. "It flies in the face of reason — and the law."
The coalition includes Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin, the District of Columbia, the cities of Boulder, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and South Miami, and Broward County.