Maine officials on Friday asked a state judge to dismiss a lawsuit by environmentalists accusing the state of failing to meet targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by not adopting a policy to boost the sales of electric vehicles.

The Department of Environmental Protection is not required by law to adopt a policy expanding electric vehicle use and its “alleged failure or refusal” to adopt the policy is discretionary and not subject to judicial review, the state said in its response to an April 22 lawsuit by the Conservation Law Foundation, Sierra Club and Maine Youth Action.

The lawsuit, filed in Cumberland County Superior Court, also said that the environmental groups’ accusation that the DEP has failed to adopt rules required by Maine’s statute regarding greenhouse gas emission reduction should be dismissed because the groups do not have legal standing to make such a request.

In addition, the state said the DEP has not failed to comply with climate change legislation and that the lawsuit asks the court to to breach Maine’s constitutional separation of powers.

Emily K. Green, senior attorney for the Conservation Law Foundation in Maine, said the state “would be better served by spending its time and resources to implement our climate law, rather than attempting to dismiss our lawsuit before we get a day in court.”

Environmentalists said in their lawsuit that the DEP and Board of Environmental Protection, which provides oversight of the DEP, are responsible for implementing Maine’s Climate Law that requires greenhouse gas emissions to be cut at least 45% from 1990 levels by 2030 and 80% by 2050.

The environmentalists have asked the court to order the board to adopt rules that comply with the state’s climate law, with a priority for transportation on or before Nov. 1. They asked the court to order the agency to adopt EV rules or an alternative rule by the same date. That date is one month before the Dec. 1 deadline for the Maine Climate Council to update the state climate plan.

This story will be updated.

Copy the Story Link

« Previous

PORTLAND, Maine (WMTW) – WEX, a financial technology provider headquartered in Portland, is cutting about 375 jobs worldwide.

The company tells Maine’s Total Coverage that fewer than 45 of those job cuts will be in Maine.

WEX currently employs about 1,000 people in Maine.

“As the technology environment continues to change rapidly, it is imperative that WEX continues to evolve its business to support innovation and maintain its position as an industry leader. Accordingly, we have made changes across the company to advance our technology transformation, streamline the organizational structures, and ensure that our customers remain at the center of everything we do,” the company said in a statement to Maine’s Total Coverage.

Most of the job cuts will affect the technology organization of the company.

The company says they will provide as much support as possible to affected workers.

Copyright 2024 WABI. All rights reserved.

Expect partly cloudy skies with highs reaching the upper 80s to mid 90s. The coolest temperature will be across far northern Maine and along the coast with the hottest being right along I95. Dewpoints will remain in the upper 60s and low to mid 70s, making it feel much hotter. Our heat index values will top out in the upper 90s to around 100. A cold front will churn up some showers and storms, some of which, may be strong to severe. Main hazards with these storms will be, heavy rain, strong winds and hail. Storms will gradually fizzle out after sunset, but some stray showers will be possible overnight.