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Case 1:08-cv-07837-PAC Document 51 Filed 10/31/2008 Page 16 of 26 To determine whether the 25/30 Rules are expressly preempted by § 32919(a) of the EPCA, the Court starts with the language of the statute. “Statutory construction must begin with the language employed by Congress and the assumption that the ordinary meaning of that language accurately expresses the legislative purpose.” Park ’N Fly, Inc. v. Dollar Park & Fly, Inc., 469 U.S. 189, 194 (1985). The relevant question when looking at § 32919(a) is whether the 25/30 Rules are “related to fuel economy standards.” If so, the rules are expressly preempted unless the savings clause or another exception applies. The EPCA defines “fuel economy” as “the average number of miles traveled by an automobile for each gallon of gasoline (or equivalent amount of other fuel) used . . . .” 49 U.S.C. § 32901(a)(11). The Supreme Court has defined the term “standards” in the context of CAA preemption as “that which ‘is established by authority, custom, or general consent, as a model or example; criterion; test.’” Engine Manufacturers Association v. South Coast Air Quality Management District, 541 U.S. 246, 252-53 (2004) (quoting Webster’s Second New International Dictionary 2455 (1945)). A fair reading of the 25/30 Rules leads to but one conclusion: the rules set standards that relate to an average number of miles that New York City taxicabs must travel per gallon of gasoline. Any doubt about this conclusion is eliminated by the TLC regulations’ express incorporation of fuel economy standards as defined in the EPCA. The 25/30 Rules require “a minimum city rating of twenty-five (25) miles per gallon as labeled pursuant to title 49, section 32908 of the United States Code . . .” by October 1, 2008, and “a minimum city rating of thirty (30) miles per gallon as labeled pursuant to title 49, section 32908 of the United States Code . . .” by October 1, 2009. TLC Rule § 3-02(c)(10)(i), (c)(11)(i) (emphasis added). The TLC’s regulations set fuel economy standards for taxicabs; and they are “related to fuel economy 16
Case 1:08-cv-07837-PAC Document 51 Filed 10/31/2008 Page 17 of 26 standards or average fuel economy standards” as contemplated under the EPCA’s preemption provision. The Supreme Court’s decision in Engine Manufacturers Association v. South Coast Air Quality Management District, 541 U.S. 246 (2004), also forecloses any argument that the EPCA applies only to fuel economy standards as they relate to manufacturers or sellers. In that case, which involved preemption under the CAA, not the EPCA, the Supreme Court clarified that CAA preemption applies equally to local emission laws addressed to purchasers of vehicles, as opposed to only manufacturers, sellers, or dealers. South Coast Air Quality Management District (“South Coast”) was a political subdivision of California responsible for air pollution control in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. South Coast adopted rules prohibiting various public and private fleet operators from purchasing or leasing vehicles not in compliance with stringent emission requirements. Id. at 248-49 (rules governed operators of fleets of street sweepers, passenger cars, public transit vehicles, including shuttles and taxicabs picking up airline passengers, as well as other fleet operators). The Court, in an 8-1 decision, held that a state law that restricted emissions in new vehicles was preempted whether it targeted purchasers or manufacturers. Id. at 253-55 (finding that the district court’s interpretation of the word “standard” in the CAA’s preemption language was flawed). Additionally, the Court held that it made “no sense” to treat sales restrictions and purchase restrictions differently for preemption reasons. Id. at 255 (“The manufacturer’s right to sell federally approved vehicles is meaningless in the absence of a purchaser’s right to buy them.”). For the same reasons stated in Engine Manufacturers, EPCA preemption applies equally to state and local fuel economy laws addressing the purchase of vehicles. 17
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