U.S. TO RESTORE CALIF. POWER TO SET POLLUTION RULES
Would allow state to set fuel efficiency, emissions standards
The U.S. Transportation Department announced Thursday it was withdrawing part of a Trump-era rule that blocked states from setting their own tough car pollution standards, setting the stage for a return of broader power to California to fight climate change.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is part of the DOT, said the newly proposed rule change, which will be subject to a 30-day comment period, would restore California’s authority to set fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emission standards for cars and SUVs, and to require car companies to sell more electric vehicles.
The agency’s action Thursday is the precursor to the Biden administration’s plan to return even greater authority to California in the form of a legal waiver granted by the Obama administration under the 1970 Clean Air Act. The waiver had allowed the state to set stricter auto emission and fuel efficiency rules than the federal government and had been granted under every presidential administration except George W. Bush. That power was widely considered one of the state’s most effective weapons in the fight against climate change and air pollution.
The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to begin steps to reinstate the waiver next week. The state’s special authority dates to the 1960s, when state officials acknowledged the smog enveloping Southern California as a public health crisis. By the time the federal government began to take an interest in enacting tailpipe emissions controls, California had already taken the lead.
Trump revoked California’s waiver in 2019 shortly before his administration issued a new set of fuel economy and emissions rules that were significantly weaker than the Obama standards. The change also affected the District of Columbia and the 13 states that follow California’s tighter standards.
California and nearly two dozen other states sued the administration, challenging the decision. Trump’s move split the industry, with most automakers behind him while Ford, Honda, BMW, Volkswagen and Volvo decided to go with California standards.
After Biden was inaugurated, automakers began withdrawing support for Trump’s decision.
The Transportation Department said in a statement that Thursday’s action would establish a regulatory clean slate and reverse “unnecessary and potentially unlawful efforts to prevent state action.”
Steven Cliff, the NHTSA’s acting administrator, said states have led the way in addressing climate change. “NHTSA’s proposed rule would remove unnecessary barriers to state leadership in regulating greenhouse gases and other air pollutants that spew from the tailpipes of cars,” he said in a statement.
“The Trump administration should never have challenged California’s legal authority to set our own vehicle emission standards,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said in a statement. “The Clean Air Act clearly gives us the right to protect the air Californians breathe and I want to thank the Biden administration for dropping this frivolous challenge.”