The Trump administration is set to formally revoke the state of California's legal authority to set tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions rules that are tougher than federal standards, The New York Times reported Sept. 17.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will make the announcement during a private event on Sept. 18 at the EPA's headquarters in Washington, D.C., according to two unnamed sources familiar with the matter.
The anticipated move comes as the administration is also preparing to ease national vehicle fuel efficiency standards. The Obama administration set requirements for corporate average fuel economy standards for cars and light-duty trucks to rise to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. But under the Trump administration, the EPA and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed to lower that target to 37 mpg through model year 2026, saying the Obama-era standards were inappropriate.
In proposing the regulation, dubbed the Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient Vehicles rule, the Trump administration also called for revoking California's waiver to set its own tougher auto rules. But the two proposals may be split into separate final rulemakings.
"To borrow from Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, CAFE does not stand for California Assumes Federal Empowerment," EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said during a Sept. 17 address to the National Automobile Dealers Association. "So we will be moving forward with one national standard very soon."
In response to the federal government's push to ease auto emissions standards, the state of California signed a voluntary agreement in July with four major automakers to steadily increase vehicle emission and fuel economy standards through their model year 2026. But the EPA and U.S. Department of Transportation told the California Air Resources Board the agreement appeared to be inconsistent with the federal government's authority to set fuel economy standards for new motor vehicles.
The U.S. Department of Justice meanwhile launched an antitrust investigation into the pact to determine if the participating automakers are violating federal competition law. California signed the July deal with Ford Motor Co., Honda Motor Co. Ltd., Volkswagen AG and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG.
Since the 1970s, the EPA has granted California waivers to set its own, stricter tailpipe standards as long as the rules were at least as protective as federal standards. The U.S. Congress also allowed other states to choose California's targets over federal ones, with 13 states currently following California's auto rules.
Environmental groups promised to fight the Trump administration's expected revocation of California's waiver.
"California, other states, and environmental organizations are ready to take those agencies to court," said David Doniger, senior strategic director of the Natural Resources Defense Council's climate and clean energy program. "Together, we'll block this latest Trump attempt to flout our laws and rollback vital climate protections."
