U.S. Supreme Court Rejects PMSA's Challenge to California's Vessel Fuel Rule

Abstract

Examines the legal issues raised by the challenge brought by the Pacific Maritime Shipping Association against the state of California's "Vessel Fuel Rule," designed to restrict air pollution from commercial ships engaged in maritime commerce, even while the ships are operating outside of the state's waters. The paper compares the California rule to the global standard established by Annex VI of the International Maritime Organization's MARPOL Convention and the more stringent standards under that Convention for the North America Emissions Control Area.

Keywords: shipping, environmental law, vessel-source air pollution, preemption, maritime commerce, conditions on port entry

JEL Classification: K23, K32, K33, L92