Dozens of states urge EPA to deny California waiver making out-of-state trucks comply with electric mandate

Twenty-four states signed onto a formal “comment letter” to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), asking it to deny California a waiver that would allow Sacramento to compel visiting truckers to conform to its stringent emissions standards.

Any trucking company with 50 or more vehicles or $50 million in gross annual revenue would fall under the provisions that compel them to begin replacing their fleets with electric rigs in 2025.

The rules will apply to California trucks and those with out-of-state tags that operate in the Golden State for at least one day per year while meeting the above attributes.

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said in a statement the move would unfairly give California “a slice of sovereign authority” over other states and highlighted how Mountaineers rely heavily on big rig commerce in their rugged, landlocked state.

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A sign welcomes travelers on I-79 to West Virginia from Pennsylvania in Monongalia County, W.Va., July 2024. (Charlie Creitz)

Nearly 85% of Mountaineer communities rely on trucks to deliver their goods, and the state has spent millions to expand its Robert C. Byrd Appalachian Highway System by creating wide, multi-lane

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