Wyoming has filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration’s new fuel economy standards. The rules will require light-duty vehicles to average 50 miles per gallon by 2031.

The rules are meant to save on fuel costs while reducing pollution, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. But Gov. Mark Gordon said the standards aren’t workable in Wyoming, where long distance travel and extreme cold mean that electric vehicles may not be the best option.

“They have no reason to overreach into Wyoming’s driving habits,” Gordon said in an interview. “Most people here drive pickups. They might have loads of livestock that they have to haul and electric vehicles don’t necessarily make sense for that.”

Gordon said the new rule amounts to a federal mandate to force a consumer transition to electric vehicles. In a joint letter from January, governors from 16 states urged Pres. Joe Biden to reel in his ambitions regarding electric vehicles.

Due to the remote nature of the state’s roads, Gordon said the new rules, which would also require charging stations every fifty miles, don’t consider the reality of driving in Wyoming.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that he’s working to find solutions for the unique circumstances of the Cowboy State.

“We’re conscious that a one-size-fits-all approach is not going to work,” said Buttigieg in an exclusive interview with Wyoming Public Radio. “We’re in good dialogue with the governor and with WYDOT [Wyoming Department of Transportation] about how to make sure that we apply that common sense here in this program.”

Wyoming is currently engaged in 58 lawsuits against various federal agencies, according to the governor’s office. Gordon said that the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on the Chevron doctrine, which had given agencies leeway when ambiguous legal language left room for interpretation, may impact Wyoming’s lawsuits.

“It may mean that regulators will have to take the process more seriously,” Gordon said. “It may rein in some energy regulation and federal overreach.”

This reporting was made possible by a grant from the Corporation For Public Broadcasting, supporting state government coverage in the state. Wyoming Public Media and Jackson Hole Community Radio are partnering to cover state issues both on air and online.

Ten hemp companies and one individual hemp seller are suing the state of Wyoming over a ban on the cannabis-like substance delta-8 THC. They are calling the law, which took effect Monday, unconstitutional and want it blocked.

The lawsuit was filed last Friday in the U.S. District Court against Wyoming Gov.Mark Gordon (R), attorney general Bridget Hill (R), director of agriculture Doug Miyamoto and all of Wyoming’s elected prosecutors.

“We will fight to keep our small businesses open, keep food on the tables of our staff, and keep products coming to the hardworking people [of] Wyoming,” Gillette’s Mountain High Wellness store owners Sarah and Richard McDaniel, who are among the plaintiffs, said in a statement as reported by WyoFile. “The Hemp Community of Wyoming is not backing down until the people of Wyoming have the right to decide what we use for alternative options to big pharma and our small businesses have the right to continue to operate.”

Read Also: Intoxicating Hemp Products Face Regulatory Crackdown Across Multiple States

The Delta-8 Question

What is delta-8 THC and why is it banned?

Delta-8 THC is a chemical component of the cannabis plant. Although delta-8 occurs naturally in very small concentrations, it can produce a mild psychoactive effect in some people similar to delta-9 THC.

New industrial methodologies enable delta-8 THC to be converted from CBD derived from hemp. Products developed as a result of the 2018 federal Farm Bill that legalized hemp are therefore not subject to the same testing requirements as cannabis, creating a legal loophole.

The biggest problem connected to delta-8 THC has mostly to do with the question of safety. It takes a proficient and experienced chemist to ensure the safe conversion of CBD molecules into THC molecules, writes Forbes. Inappropriate or imprecise techniques could potentially result in dangerous impurities in the final product.

This is why many states are banning delta-8 and other synthetic cannabis products.

“(The new law) creates insurmountable confusion around criminal liability and destroys the mere act of processing hemp into consumable products,” reads the lawsuit. “(We) face irreparable harm unless this court enjoins (the law).

Unconstitutional And Too Broad

The plaintiffs also claim that the new ban illegally narrows the federal definition of hemp, impacts interstate transpiration laws, and is too broad.

“For instance, [Senate File 32 – Hemp-limitations on psychoactive substances] bans hemp containing any “synthetic substance,” a term which is overly broad that incorporates “non ‘psychoactive substances’” like CBD that contains no THC,” the filing states. 

The lawsuit lists the following businesses as plaintiffs: Up In Smoke II (Laramie), Capitol Botanicals (Cody), Dr. Chronic’s Concentrates (Casper), Flower Castle Elevated Wellness (Cheyenne), and CinD’s CBD and Vape (Torrington). It also includes the agricultural operation Greybull River Farms.

The new law is “unconstitutional, as it deprived plaintiffs from cultivating, distributing, transporting and selling hemp plants and hemp-derived products that are declared legal under the 2018 Farm Bill,” reads the document. The plaintiffs also say if the law is enacted and individuals who cultivate hemp plants are to be prosecuted they’ll suffer “irreparable harm.”

“An injunction is the proper remedy when challenging the constitutionality of state action.”

Read Next:

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Photo: Courtesy of H_Ko via Shutterstock

WELD COUNTY, Colo. — The Colorado Bureau of Investigation has issued an alert for a Wyoming woman who disappeared after driving to Weld County Tuesday.

Helen Wykle, 90, left her home in Wyoming sometime on Tuesday and traveled to Weld County. She was last seen around 6 p.m. near County Road 74 and County Road 33 near Eaton.

Wykle is 5 feet 4 inches tall and 125 pounds with gray hair and green eyes. She was driving her blue 2018 Honda CRV with Wyoming license plate 6-1379. CBI said there is damage to the driver’s side from hitting a pole.

Wykle has cognitive impairment and there are concerns for her safety, according to CBI. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call 911 or the Weld County