The American Trucking Associations has joined a lawsuit against the state of Oregon to block the state’s low carbon fuel standards. ATA joins the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers and the Consumer energy Alliance in the suit.
ATA is against the Oregon Clean Fuels Program, which it says unfairly benefits Oregon’s biofuels industry and harms out of state refiners and producers. The program will regulate the entire carbon lifecycle of fuel sold in the state. ATA contends that would be in violation of the Commerce Clause.
"The Oregon program is set up to give a big boost to Oregon's small biofuel industry, without reducing net greenhouse gas emissions, and at the expense of higher fuel costs for everyone," said ATA vice president for Energy and Environmental Affairs Glen Kedzie. "Unfortunately for Oregon, the Constitution doesn't allow states to set up these kinds of trade barriers in order to promote in-state businesses, nor does it allow Oregon to regulate how fuel is produced in other states."
ATA said that Oregon’s new standard would raise fuel prices and do nothing to help reduce overall greenhouse gases. The complaint has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon.
On March 12, 2015, Oregon Governor Kate Bush signed SB 324, which allowed the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to move forward with implementing the Clean Fuels Program.
"Just as trucking is the lifeblood of our economy, for the foreseeable future, diesel fuel is the lifeblood of the trucking industry," said Bill Graves, ATA president and CEO. "Anything that unnecessarily raises the cost of fuel will not just hurt the trucking industry, but will also hurt consumers everywhere in the form of higher prices for food, clothing and other consumer goods."
