Western States Petroleum Association v. California Air Resources Board

The California Court of Appeal held that a trial court properly denied a petition for writ of mandate challenging the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB’s) Control Measure for Ocean-Going Vessels at Berth. The regulation limits emissions of nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, greenhouse gas, and ammonia from equipment on ocean-going vessels while at berth. CARB adopted the regulation in August 2020, and a Superior Court upheld the rule in 2023. The appellate court found that the petitioner did not establish that CARB lacked evidentiary support or acted arbitrarily and capriciously in determining that complying with the regulation’s emissions capture and control or shore power requirements would be feasible. In addition, the Court of Appeal found that CARB substantially complied with the Administrative Procedure Act and did not violate the California Environmental Quality Act.

Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) challenged the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB’s) adoption of amended emission control measures for ocean-going vessels at berth in California ports. WSPA contended that CARB violated the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 by adopting capture and control requirements that were not technologically feasible, were not cost-effective, and would not achieve the projected emissions benefits, and also by failing “to properly balance the relative emission contribution from tankers against other mobile source categories throughout the state, and unfairly penaliz[ing] terminals where tankers berth because of the extremely high implementation costs associated with attempting to install capture and control technology at these facilities.” WSPA also alleged that CARB failed to fully consider the amended regulations’ environmental impacts beyond greenhouse gases.