A federal district court has blocked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's attempt to reclassify six Clean Air Act preemption waivers granted to California, ruling that the agency's actions violated administrative procedure. California Attorney General Rob Bonta brought the challenge after the EPA attempted to reclassify four waivers in June 2026 and two additional waivers in July while the initial lawsuit was pending.
The court rejected what it characterized as the EPA's procedural overreach. "This may seem like a clever policy move, but undermines honest compliance with the law, which is what Americans should expect from executive branch agencies," the court wrote in its order.
The six waivers, issued under the Clean Air Act, allow California to adopt and enforce stricter emission standards for cars, small offroad engines, ocean-going ships in port, and commercial harbor craft. Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA is required to approve California's preemption waivers unless certain limited circumstances apply that the court found were not present here.
The EPA's June and July actions sought to reclassify the waivers as rules subject to congressional disapproval. According to California officials, in the more than 50 years since the Clean Air Act was enacted, preemption waivers have never been treated as rules subject to congressional disapproval.
California has received more than 75 preemption waivers since the Clean Air Act's enactment, with waivers granted under both Republican and Democratic administrations.