Poet, LLC v. State Air Res. Bd.
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Franson, J.
The California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Health & Saf. Code, § 38500 et seq. ) established the first comprehensive greenhouse gas regulatory program in the United States. Its goal is to progressively reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. The State Air Resources Board (ARB) was charged with achieving this goal. One of its actions was promulgating the low carbon fuel standards (LCFS) regulations that are the subject of this litigation.
When ARB adopted the original LCFS regulations in 2009, it violated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA; Pub. Resources Code, § 21000 et seq. 1 ). In 2013, we identified those violations and directed the issuance of a writ of mandate compelling ARB to take corrective action. ( POET, LLC v. State Air Resources Bd. (2013) 218 Cal.App.4th 681 , 160 Cal.Rptr.3d 69 ( Poet I ).) Now, we consider whether ARB's actions satisfied that writ and corrected one of its CEQA violations. The specific question presented is whether ARB's disclosures about the project's effects on biodiesel consumption, and the related increases in nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions, satisfied paragraph 3 of the writ of mandate.