Trucking groups, farmers file opening brief in lawsuit against EPA: 'unworkable mandate'

Plaintiffs in a major case challenging the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) new heavy-duty vehicle emissions standards filed their opening brief in litigation, Fox News Digital has learned.

The new rules, finalized in March, stipulate that 40% of work trucks and 25% of semis would have to be zero emissions vehicles (ZEVs) by 2032, among other restrictions.

The American Petroleum Institute (API), a group representing 600 entities that produce and distribute the majority of U.S. energy and a prominent plaintiff in one of the suits, saw the court consolidate its filing with those from half a dozen other similar lawsuits brought by corn growers, trucking interests and a consortium of 25 states led by Nebraska.

"Americans overwhelmingly oppose the government telling them what to buy and drive, but this administration's relentless pursuit of vehicle mandates does just that," Ryan Meyers, senior vice president and general counsel for API, said.

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"EPA's misguided effort to force electrification of America's trucking industry is contrary to law and threatens to disrupt the nation's supply chain, leaving consumers in the crosshairs," he added."

Meyers called the mandates "unworkable" and reiterated his call for them to be rescinded.