California and Connecticut are working together on a coordinated legal response to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision last week to withdraw the so-called "endangerment finding" that had served as the federal basis for regulating greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said the states are assembling the elements of a potential lawsuit, including standing and legal claims, and described the effort as a "plan of attack." "We’re going to take action," Tong said in an interview, adding: "We’re putting together our best possible plan of attack."
The endangerment finding has been the foundation for EPA rules affecting a range of sectors. The agency has relied on it to regulate emissions from power plants, automakers, and oil and gas operations. Transport and power together are responsible for about half of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, a fact cited in the discussion of the policy shift.
Legal observers have warned the EPA move could revive litigation paths that had been constrained after an earlier Supreme Court decision. Specifically, experts said the withdrawal could spur a rise in "public nuisance" suits - a line of legal attack that was limited following a Supreme Court ruling that placed greenhouse gas regulation under the authority of the EPA rather than the courts.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the two states were "looking at the facts and law to challenge the original action." Bonta emphasized that while the states intend to act without undue delay, they also want to ensure the legal case is tightly prepared. "We’re not going to bring a lawsuit in six months. The temporal nexus to the action is important. But getting it right and making sure everything’s tight is important too," he said.
Both attorneys general declined to offer a specific timetable for filing litigation, signaling a balance between swift response and careful legal preparation. The statements frame a multi-state effort focused on standing, claims and procedural strategy to contest the EPA’s reversal of a finding that has shaped federal climate regulation for multiple industries.
Summary - California and Connecticut are coordinating legal action to challenge the EPA’s recent rescission of the endangerment finding that underpinned federal greenhouse gas regulation for vehicles and other sectors. State attorneys general said they are assembling standing arguments, claims and timing for a prompt but carefully constructed lawsuit.