The Western Propane Gas Association (WPGA) filed a lawsuit Friday challenging the California Air Resources Board's (CARB) Zero Emissions Forklift (ZEF) rule due to costs it purportedly imposes, according to court documents.
of Regulation A directive from CARB issued June 27 requires dealers to stop selling most gas-powered forklifts by Jan. 1, 2026, and companies to begin phasing out non-electric forklifts by Jan. 1, 2028. document Now, the propane gas industry group WPGA is challenging California's rules, arguing that CARB failed to take into account the enormous costs of compliance. Estimation In addition to the $27 billion loss, there will also be environmental damage from the power grid expansion and mineral extraction needed to carry out the transition. (Related article: California regulators propose government takeover of oil refineries to avoid energy crisis)
“The costs include building the infrastructure necessary to charge and store the electric batteries used by the ZEFs and requiring operators to replace one internal combustion engine-powered forklift with three ZEFs,” the WPGA lawsuit states. “Under California law, a legitimate environmental challenge must be based on substantial evidence and accurately consider the benefits and costs of the proposed plan. The ZEF regulations fail to meet this standard.”
CARB is a giant unelected bureaucratic organization that has banned non-electric cars, buses, and now trains without a vote of Congress or the people.
The latest rail plans would actually increase emissions, worsen inflation and make trains less safe. pic.twitter.com/PRvwluPYZ5
— Rep. Kevin Kiley (@RepKiley) July 10, 2024
$27 Billion Cost to WPGA estimate The bulk of this is made up of a net cost of more than $10 billion to replace gasoline-powered forklifts in California and roughly $3 billion in costs to replace forklift batteries between 2026 and 2038.
The lawsuit also alleges that CARB's Environmental Impact Analysis (EIA) failed to take into account the strain that the transition to electric forklifts would place on California's energy grid and the damage to air quality that would result from the additional mining required to extract the minerals needed to produce ZEF.
“EIA relied on erroneous factual assumptions about the number of forklifts affected, overstated the cumulative fuel savings, and understated the replacement costs of converting LSI forklifts to ZEF,” the complaint states.
In addition to forklifts, California plans to ban the sale of gasoline-powered passenger cars by 2035 and large trucks by 2036.
“We know this rule will place an undue burden on small businesses and nonprofits in California,” WPGA spokesperson Jenny Dudikoff told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Small businesses and nonprofits often don't have enough funds to spend $100,000 or more in a single year on new forklifts and chargers that may not be able to do the work they need to do.”
CARB postpones DCNF to ZEF regulation document I was asked for comment.
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