Sixteen AGs Filed Comments Opposing Unlawful Energy Efficiency Carve-Out for Fast-Cycle Washers and Dryers
OCTOBER 13, 2020
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum led a coalition of 16 attorneys general in submitting comments in opposition to a proposal by the Department of Energy to create a new product class under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) for fast-cycle clothes washers and dryers. The proposal would exempt such appliances from EPCA energy efficiency standards altogether—including from baseline standards set by Congress—in violation of the statute’s anti-backsliding provision. The attorneys general also challenged the department’s dubious assertion that the proposal need not undergo National Environmental Policy Act review, emphasizing that “[i]t is self-evident that if adopting a standard has environmental benefits, carving out exemptions to that standard—which is what establishing these ‘new product classes’ would do—will result in detrimental environmental impacts.”
- Documents: CommentsOR Press Release
- Document Type: Comment Letters Press Releases/Statements
- States: Colorado Connecticut Illinois Maine Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Nevada New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina Oregon Vermont Washington Washington, D.C.
- Agencies: Department of Energy
- Issues: Clean Air & Climate Climate Cross-Cutting & Administrative Energy & Energy Efficiency Energy Efficiency Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- Era: Trump Administration
- Action Type: Rulemaking & Other Federal Administrative Proceedings