June 18, 2012: Joint Brief Filed on Behalf of HARDI and ACCA Challenges Regional Efficiency Standards
WASHINGTON — Cause of Action has filed a joint brief in a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) following what it says is DOE’s “move to impose unreasonable energy efficiency standards on distributors, installers, and users of residential heating and cooling products in the United States.” The brief was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on behalf of the Heating, Air-conditioning, and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) and the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA).
Cause of Action stated DOE violated both congressional intent and long-standing agency practice, exceeding its statutory authority when it circumvented the often-used public comment period and acted on its own to issue a direct final rule that imposes new regional energy efficiency standards.