Attorney General Bonta Strongly Urges DOE to Halt Unlawful Rescission of Efficiency Standards

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today co-led a coalition of 15 attorneys general, alongside Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, New York Attorney General Tish James, and the Corporation Counsel of the City of New York Muriel Goode-Trufant, in submitting comment letters to the United States Department of Energy (DOE) strongly urging the department to refrain from moving forward with its proposed deregulatory actions. Last month, the DOE proposed 16 rules that would erode water and energy efficiency standards for consumer appliances and commercial equipment. In today’s comment letters, the coalition argues that these rollbacks, if implemented, would be unlawful, would harm consumers and businesses by increasing utility costs, and would contribute to climate change by increasing greenhouse gas emissions.

“As energy costs reach historic highs, the President continues to break his promise to Americans of ‘driving costs down’ on Day One. Not only are these rules unlawful, but they will also drive up energy costs for business and consumers and harm our environment,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Alongside attorneys general nationwide, we strongly urge the Department of Energy to refrain from adopting these rollbacks and maintain the current common-sense water and energy efficiency standards.” 

In response to President Trump’s Executive Order, “Zero-Based Regulations to Unleash American Energy,” the DOE proposed rules intended to weaken water and energy efficiency standards on a range of appliances and commercial equipment – either by rescinding amended standards, returning standards to statutory minimums, or removing products entirely from coverage under the Energy Policy Conservation Act (EPCA). If implemented, the Trump Administration’s actions would violate the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and in some cases EPCA’s “anti-backsliding” provision, which prohibits the weakening or removal of existing standards unless explicitly allowed by Congress. 

In the comment letters, the coalition writes that: 

• The water or energy efficiency standards that DOE seeks to roll back have historically resulted in significant water and energy savings. 
• DOE’s extensive rollback proposals, if adopted, would increase energy costs for businesses and consumers and contribute significantly to climate change.
• The rules, if implemented, would violate the APA and NEPA, and in some cases would also violate EPCA’s anti-backsliding provision. 

In submitting the comment letters, Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of Maryland, New York, the City of New York, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington.

Copies of the 16 comment letters can be found here.