By David Shepardson
June 25 (Reuters) - The state of California on Thursday sought a preliminary injunction to block the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from teeing up landmark state vehicle emissions rules for potential repeal by Congress.
The Trump administration EPA said earlier this month that waivers under the Clean Air Act for California environmental regulations approved under prior Democratic administrations should have been sent to lawmakers under the Congressional Review Act. California sought
a preliminary injunction that would block the EPA action after filing suit earlier this week in U.S. District Court in Washington.
The move threatens California's vehicle emissions program adopted by a dozen other states that has forced automakers to sharply cut tailpipe pollution.
California noted over the last 60 years it has received about 75 waivers for emissions regulations and maintained parallel regulatory programs with the federal government to control emissions from vehicles and their engines.
"The first Trump administration attempted to blow a hole in this two-program structure," the state said. "The second Trump administration wants to tear it down altogether."
The EPA did not immediately comment.
The administration of Republican President Donald Trump has mounted a multi-pronged effort to deny California the ability to require cleaner vehicles and more electric vehicles. The EPA has also enacted rules making it easier for automakers to sell more gasoline-powered cars and trucks, while making it more expensive to buy EVs.
The four waivers sent to Congress for review granted California authority to enact its own emission standards for cars and trucks in 2009, as well as lawn and garden equipment. The rules have prodded companies to produce cleaner electric models to reduce emissions.
California won approval in 2022 under then-President Joe Biden's EPA for the state's current vehicle emissions rules.
California's rules require automakers to sell a rising number of electric vehicles and meet increasingly stringent limits on tailpipe emissions.
Those rules are much stricter than those imposed by the Trump administration, which plans to roll back federal fuel economy rules.
Congress rescinded authority for California to outlaw traditional gasoline-powered vehicles after 2035 after Toyota, GM and other automakers lobbied for relief from California's emissions regulations.
That came after the EPA sent Congress the waiver for that program for review. Many Democratic lawmakers contended the waivers are not reviewable under the CRA. California and other states also challenged that waiver submission to Congress in court.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Franklin Paul and Aurora Ellis)
