Racing Enthusiasts & Suppliers Coalition v. EPA

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that it did not have jurisdiction to consider challenges brought by an association representing makers and sellers of aftermarket car products to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) 2016 final rule on greenhouse gas emissions standards for medium- and heavy-duty engines and vehicles. The association’s claims focused on aspects of the final rule that the association believed would curtail longstanding practices of modifying the emissions systems of cars as part of converting them to race cars, which they argue no longer qualify as “motor vehicles.” The court found that the association did not have standing to challenge either “merely cosmetic” amendments limiting the exemption for dedicated competition vehicles to “nonroad engines/equipment” or the expansion of the regulatory definition of “motor vehicle.” In addition, the court concluded that language in the preamble could not be challenged because it was not final agency action.

On December 6, 2021, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals granted petitioners’ motion to lift the abeyance in their case challenging the Obama administration’s 2016 standards for greenhouse gas emissions and fuel efficiency standards for medium- and heavy-duty engines and vehicles. The petitioners described their challenge as related to EPA’s “assertions in the Rule that individuals who modify certain vehicles and/or engines for off-road racing/competition purposes or that manufacturers of parts for these individuals and companies could be considered in violation of the Clean Air Act.” The petitioners asked that the abeyance be lifted and a briefing schedule set because there was no longer a reasonable prospect that they would settle the matter. EPA did not oppose the motion.