Shore Power. File Image. Image Credit: Ship & Bunker

• Congressional resolutions filed against California's At-Berth and Commercial Harbor Craft waivers
• At-Berth rule requires ships to plug in or capture emissions at berth; harbor craft rule mandates R99 renewable diesel
• Climate NGO Pacific Environment warns rescission would strand years of shore power investment
• Move is part of a wider Republican push against California's Clean Air Act waiver authority

Republican lawmakers have introduced resolutions in Congress to overturn the federal waivers behind California's two key shipping emissions regulations: the Ocean-Going Vessels At-Berth rule and the Commercial Harbor Craft rule.

H.J.Res.210, sponsored by Rep. Vince Fong, and S.J.Res.209, sponsored by Sen. Dan Sullivan, target the At-Berth waiver, while Sen. Bernie Moreno's S.J.Res.210 targets the harbor craft waiver, all filed on August 6 under the Congressional Review Act (CRA).

The At-Berth regulation, in force in phased form since 2014, requires vessels at California ports to connect to shore power or capture their emissions at berth, with its 2020 update extending requirements to tankers and ro-ros from 2025 and full enforceability arriving in 2027.

The harbor craft rule has required tugs, ferries, and other workboats in the state to run exclusively on R99 or R100 renewable diesel since 2023, making it a significant driver of renewable diesel demand on the US West Coast, and requires short-run ferries to be zero-emission from the end of 2025.

The resolutions follow the EPA's decision in July to transmit the two waivers to Congress as rules, making them eligible for CRA repeal, a reclassification that climate campaign group Pacific Environment argues breaks with 50 years of precedent under which Clean Air Act waivers were not treated as rules.

"This congressional attack on California's At Berth and Commercial Harbor Craft waivers undercuts longstanding investments already made in cleaner vessels, port infrastructure and maritime innovations," Davina Hurt, climate policy director at the NGO, said in a statement.

The group cites California Air Resources Board analysis putting the At-Berth rule's benefits at 230 lives saved and $2.31 billion in health benefits, with the harbor craft rule credited with a further 530 lives, figures that reflect the state's own regulatory assessments rather than independent studies.

Supporters of the repeal effort argue California's waivers have made the state a de facto national regulator, as manufacturers and operators build to its standards rather than maintain separate product lines.

A CRA repeal would also bar any future administration from granting a waiver that is "substantially the same," which both sides acknowledge is the point: Congress rescinded three of the state's vehicle emissions waivers last year, and a separate package of resolutions targeting California's car and small-engine waivers was introduced the same day.

California is already in court over the earlier waiver withdrawals, with the state's attorney general seeking a preliminary injunction in June against what he called a "blatantly politically motivated" assault on its Clean Air Act authority.

Whether the maritime resolutions can attract the votes needed to pass both chambers within the CRA's 60-day review window remains to be seen.