EPA to freeze Obama-era fuel standards
Acting chief Wheeler says ’17 move ‘jumped the gun’
WASHINGTON – The Trump administration will formally lay out a plan as early as next week to revisit strict fueleconomy standards that had been set in motion under President Barack Obama, according to Andrew Wheeler, the new acting head of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Automakers, state officials, environmentalists and federal regulators had agreed in 2012 to increase vehicle efficiency to an average 34.5 mpg by 2016 across the fleet of American cars and trucks, with the standard then slated to rise yearly until it hits 54.5 mpg by the end of 2025.
In an interview Thursday with USA TODAY, Wheeler argued that Obama acted prematurely when he increased the fuel-efficiency requirements before leaving office in 2017 and that the issue needs further review.
“They jumped the gun,” Wheeler said. “It was a political attempt to try to move up the process and what we’re doing is taking the deliberative process of looking at the midyear review the way it was originally intended to be done.”
EPA is expected to make a joint announcement with the Department of Transportation offering alternatives to the scheduled fuel-efficiency standards.
Wheeler, who took over from embattled former EPA chief Scott Pruitt this month, said the announcement is “probably coming out next week.”
“We’re proposing a list of options. We have a preferred option, but I don’t want to get ahead of the actual proposal before it goes out,” he said.
The move is likely to be welcomed by U.S. automakers but will set up a fight with environmental groups.
The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers had sought a withdrawal of the higher fuel standards, arguing they would impose hefty costs and limit consumer options. Anticipating a retreat from tougher standards, Tom Carper of Delaware, the top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said last week during a Capitol Hill hearing he fears the Trump administration “is looking to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory instead of working responsibly to achieve consensus.”
The decision is not expected to directly address whether the EPA will revoke the waiver California received under the Clean Air Act to impose tougher fuel efficiency rules on cars and light trucks.
Auto manufacturers are divided on the best course of action.