California v. Environmental Protection Agency
AG sues the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency challenging its latest attack on efforts to improve air quality and protect public health by reclassifying four Clean Air Act preemption waivers previously granted to California as “rules” subject to Congressional disapproval and sent them to Congress in apparent pursuit of such disapproval.
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- Litigation Status Case Pending: No decision yet on harmful policy
On June 22, 2026, California Attorney General Rob Bonta, California Governor Gavin Newsom, and the California Air Resources Board filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), challenging the agency’s decision to classify four previously granted Clean Air Act waivers as “rules” subject to congressional review in an attempt to weaken California’s air quality standards.
The waivers that the EPA had previously approved allow California to enforce state vehicle and engine emissions standards aimed at reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. The Clean Air Act explicitly provides for California to apply for such waivers, and the statute directs that EPA “must” grant them unless specific exceptions are met. These waivers have never been treated as rules in more than 50 years since the Clean Air Act’s enactment.
The lawsuit alleges that EPA’s reclassification is unlawful and intended to facilitate congressional efforts to invalidate California’s emissions standards. The lawsuit seeks to block EPA’s reclassification and preserve California’s authority to implement its clean air regulations.
For fifty years, both Democratic and Republican administrations have agreed that EPA Clean Air Act waivers are not rules, and EPA’s unlawful attempt to reclassify them — years after the fact — is an illegal attempt to take down these important tools.Attorney General Rob Bonta