Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird joins lawsuits challenging trucking emission rules

DES MOINES — Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird joined a pair of lawsuits this week challenging trucking emission standards from California regulators and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, calling the rules "extreme" and "unrealistic"

Bird announced her involvement in the Nebraska-led lawsuits during a news conference Tuesday, speaking from a bay at a warehouse operated by Housby, a Polk County truck dealer.

One lawsuit seeks to block the Advanced Clean Fleets rule advanced by the California Air Resources Board. The rule requires that certain trucks that transport goods in the state, including those operated by out-of-state companies, be zero-emission vehicles by a certain date.

The deadline varies by vehicle type:

California regulators estimate the rule, in conjunction with a separate emissions regulation, will result in 1.8 million new emission-free vehicles operating on California's roads.

Bird and the other Republican attorneys general argue that the requirement is an unconstitutional overreach by California and is preempted by federal law.

“What California is doing is extreme,” Bird said. “They say that if a trucking company has 50 trucks total — even an Iowa trucking company — and one of those trucks happens to go to California, that all of that fleet must be electric by their deadline.”

A separate California regulation on pork production, which was challenged by lawsuits making similar arguments, was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022. Bird said there is precedent specifically related to trucking that prevents interstate regulations.

A spokesperson for the California Air Resources Board said the agency does not comment on pending litigation.

A separate Nebraska-led lawsuit that Bird joined Monday seeks to overturn an EPA rule also setting emission standards for freight truck fleets.

Under the final rule, truck companies must transition 30 to 40 percent of their fleet to zero-emission vehicles by 2032. The rule does not require those vehicles be electric. An EPA spokesperson did not respond Tuesday to a request for comment.

Trucking leader says rule is unrealistic

Iowa Motor Trucking Association President and Chief Executive Officer Brenda Neville said in an interview that the targets set by California are not realistic and the infrastructure does not exist for trucking companies to meet the requirements. She also said she opposes the California regulation because it imposes stricter standards than the EPA.

“The industry is always supportive of doing whatever they can to minimize their carbon footprint, but what California is proposing is unrealistic and problematic,” she said.

Neville said the trucking industry has made strides to lower its carbon emissions in recent decades, largely driven by federal regulations.

“There are other alternatives than just saying, broad strokes, ‘Everybody has to have a battery electric vehicle,’” Neville said. “...Let’s take a slower, more pragmatic approach.”