From the Editor...

• Pages: 10470-10470
• Date: 01 September 2025
• Published date: 01 September 2025
• Author: Jay Austin

55 ELR 10470 ENVIRONMENTAL LAW REPORTER SEPT/OCT 2025

From the Editor . . .

Amid concern over the direction being taken by EPA and other federal agencies, a frequent refrain has been to

tout opportunities for environmental protection at the state and local levels. That’s certainly needed, though pro-

ponents often understate the shortcomings of patchwork solutions and the wildly disparate capacity among the

states. And even where political will and f‌inancial resources exist, they may run afoul of a federal government that

is no longer receptive to “laboratories of democracy,” but rather actively obstructing them.

In this issue, Prof. John Graham examines one recent instance of obstruction, the Congressional Review Act

repeal of California’s Clean Air Act waiver for vehicle emission standards. A former White House off‌icial himself,

Graham is agnostic about the CRA maneuver but skeptical of the state’s chances of overturning it in court. He

recommends two paths forward for California, one a revised vehicle rule that could pass federal muster and the

other an incentive-based approach relying purely on state tax law.

Paradoxically, the same federal leadership that is attacking electric vehicles and clean energy has prioritized

mining the critical minerals those technologies require. Thomas Mitchell and Wesley Peebles of the Wallace Steg-

ner Center dissect a March executive order that purports to align the U.S. Department of the Interior and other

agencies behind that goal. Such orders can help coordinate federal policy and use of public lands, but the authors

argue this one’s reliance on a nebulous “energy emergency” make it susceptible to legal challenge—a proposition

being tested in similar litigation brought by a multistate coalition led by Washington State.

One can imagine a world where state demand-side clean energy initiatives and a principled federal

supply-side push for mining and manufacturing could coexist. That’s been a refrain of ELR authors for a while

now (e.g., Jamie Pleune and Ted Boling in our June 2023 issue); is anyone still listening?

— Jay Austin, Editor-in-Chief

ELR Staff

Publisher: Jordan Diamond

Editor-in-Chief: Jay Austin

Managing Editor: Rachel Jean-Baptiste

Senior Editor: Hunter Leigh Jones

Editorial Coordinator: William J. Straub

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