Prompts winter weather advisories as cold air moves in Friday night

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

Minnesota on Tuesday joined a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency over its 

 on tighter rules for vehicle greenhouse gas emissions. 


The suit's plaintiffs include 17 states and the District of Columbia. They allege the EPA violated the Clean Air Act and didn't follow the agency's own clean-car rules.


"We can see no justification, nor any documented need, to set these protections back," Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Commissioner John Linc Stine said in a 

The EPA leader now overseeing Minn. and making environmentalists nervous


California is leading the lawsuit, which is rooted in public health and environmental concerns. 


The new emissions standards would affect model year 2022-2025 vehicles. Former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy 

 on the standards in January 2017, about a week before President Obama left office. 


The MPCA says vehicle manufacturers were on track to meet these new emission standards, and that doing so would save drivers money and reduce as much carbon pollution as 134 coal power plants make in a year. 


Current EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced last month that the agency would hold off on enacting the standards and further examine them. 

U.S. lawmakers assail EPA chief over ethical missteps


Greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles are a main driver of 

 his policymaking since President Trump named him head of the EPA.

Crime, Law and Justice

Environmental News

Health

Politics and Government News

NewsPartners

Cody Nelson

Author

The Environmental Protection Agency has announced its intent to abandon stricter greenhouse gas emission regulations for 2022-2025 model year vehicles.

Minnesota sues EPA over rollback of vehicle emission rules

Go Deeper.

Like this?