Oregon Public Broadcasting

Along with four other states, Oregon plans to sue the Environmental Protection Agency -- again.

Thursday's notice warns the EPA of two lawsuits. One asks the agency to restrict pollution from tractors and other vehicles.  The other concerns emissions from ships and aircraft. Central Oregon correspondent Ethan Lindsey reports.

Environmentalists say the EPA has failed to restrict emissions from so-called “non-road vehicles.” These include things like tractors and bulldozers.

Dan Galpern is an attorney for the Western Environmental Law Center, which is filing the notice of intent to sue.

Dan Galpern: “In our petition in January, we had an illustrative list of 17 ways that greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced from these vehicles. They include switching the fuel sources to low carbon fuels, to using electricity from batteries that would be recharged overnight.”

Galpern says environmentalists are demanding federal standards - because the Clean Air Act expressly bars states from regulating emissions from non-road vehicles.

The EPA has so far denied states like California, Oregon and Washington the right to impose tailpipe standards stricter than the federal ones.