Trade Group Slaps California With Lawsuit Over Effort To Restrict Gas-Powered Forklifts

The Western Propane Gas Association (WPGA) filed a lawsuit Friday challenging the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB’s) zero-emission forklift (ZEF) rule due to the alleged costs it would impose, according to court documents.

The regulation from CARB, which was issued on June 27, requires dealerships to stop selling most gasoline-powered forklifts by Jan. 1, 2026, and for companies to begin phasing out the non-electric forklifts by Jan. 1, 2028, the documents state. Now, propane gas trade group WPGA has challenged the California rule, claiming CARB failed to account for the immense costs of compliance, estimated at $27 billion, as well as the environmental damage from the electric grid expansion and mineral mining required to execute the transition.

“Costs include building infrastructure necessary to charge and store the electric batteries used by ZEFs and the need for operators to use three ZEFs to replace one combustion-engine-powered forklift,” the WPGA lawsuit states. “California law requires an approach to its legitimate environmental concerns that is based on substantial evidence and that accurately considers the benefits and costs of the proposed plan. The ZEF Regulation fails this test.”

The WPGA’s $27 billion cost estimate is largely comprised of the $10 billion-plus net cost of replacing California’s gas-powered forklifts, as well as the nearly $3 billion in costs for replacing forklift batteries between 2026 and 2038.

The lawsuit also asserts CARB’s Environmental Impact Analysis (EIA) failed to take into account the strain a transition to electric forklifts will have on California’s energy grid as well as the damage to air quality the additional mining needed to acquire the minerals necessary for ZEF production will create.

“The EIA relies on incorrect factual assumptions about the number of affected forklifts, overestimates the cumulative fuel savings, and underestimates the replacement costs to convert LSI forklifts to ZEF,” the lawsuit states.

In addition to forklifts, California is set to ban the sale of purely gas-powered passenger cars by 2035 and heavy-duty trucks by 2036.

“We know there will be an undue burden on small businesses and nonprofits within California because of this rule,” WPGA spokeswoman Jenny Dudikoff told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “If you’re a small business or nonprofit, you often do not have adequate financial reserves to drop $100,000+ in a single year just for a new forklift and charger that may not even do the job you need it to do.”

CARB deferred the DCNF to ZEF regulation documents when asked for comment.