On Wednesday, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit granted a temporary stay in response to a lawsuit ordering the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to continue to enforce glider truck requirements.
The suit was filed by the Sierra Club, the Environmental Defense Fund and the Center for Biological Diversity, which say the stay was granted while the parties brief the merits of the case. The EPA must file a response to the motion by 4 p.m. on July 25.
According to the groups, a glider is a diesel freight truck assembled by installing a used engine and powertrain in a new truck body. Earlier this week, they filed an emergency motion for a stay or summary reversal of the EPA’s decision to stop enforcing production caps on what the groups call “super-polluting” diesel glider trucks.
“Andrew Wheeler’s tenure as EPA chief is picking up where Scott Pruitt’s left off. Wheeler and Pruitt flagrantly disregarded the established laws and rulemaking processes when EPA promised the manufacturers of these super-polluting trucks that it would not enforce its standards to limit air pollution,” says Joanne Spalding, the Sierra Club’s chief climate counsel. “The court is putting on the brakes while it considers whether this promise violates the law. The nationwide no-action enforcement memorandum is a blatant attempt by Wheeler and the Trump administration to rig the system for the dirty truck industry at the expense of American families and jobs. The wheels are already coming off Wheeler’s tenure, and we look forward to making our case to the court – and the American people.”
