(The Center Square) — New Hampshire is appealing a federal court ruling ordering the state to continue its tailpipe emissions inspection and maintenance program despite a new law ending the program.
U.S. District Court Judge Landya McCafferty issued an injunction in January ordering the state to continue the annual vehicle emissions and safety inspections. The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by Gordon Darby Holdings, Inc., a Kentucky-based company that has conducted the annual emissions tests of cars, trucks, and SUVs for 26 years.
But New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella is planning to appeal that ruling to the First Circuit Court of Appeals, citing what his office argues is a flawed ruling.
In a motion filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in New Hampshire, Formella’s office asked McCafferty to issue a stay in her decision while the appeal is considered.
The AG’s office said in the new court filing that the state will “suffer irreparable injury if forced to comply with an order that would require them to perform unlawful acts beyond their legal authority.” It also argued that the ruling is likely to be overturned by the appeals court.
McCafferty’s order requires vehicle inspections to continue until the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency gives the state final approval of the state plan to end the program.
The state said it has applied to the EPA to leave the Ozone Transport Region, a pact that requires states to take steps to reduce tailpipe pollution but hasn’t received approval yet.
Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed a two-year budget in June that repealed the mandatory safety and emissions inspection requirements for cars and trucks.
But Gordon Darby filed a lawsuit to block a new law ending the mandate, claiming it would violate the federal Clean Air Act. In the legal challenge, the firm argues that commissioners of the New Hampshire Department of Safety and the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services are in violation of federal environmental laws for ending the program.
“The commissioners’ failure to implement and enforce the inspection and maintenance program violates an ’emission standard or limitation’ and entitles Gordon-Darby to the declaratory and injunctive relief requested herein,” lawyers for the company wrote in the 39-page complaint.
New Hampshire officials have pointed out in court filings that the state will remain in compliance with Clean Air Act provisions to reduce tailpipe pollution even after the vehicle inspection mandate ends despite ending the program.
But the move to ditch the inspection program has also faced a backlash from auto dealerships who say it will hurt sales and from environmental groups who say it will contribute to excess carbon emissions that scientists say are contributing to a warmer planet.
Republican lawmakers who pushed the measure through the GOP-controlled Legislature defended the move, saying it will save Granite Staters money. They say the company’s lawsuit is more about money than it is about protecting the environment.
