Twenty-three U.S. senators recently sent a letter to Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao and Andrew Wheeler, Environmental Protection Agency acting administrator, urging the Trump Administration to stop its challenge of the Clean Air Act.
Under the Clean Air Act, California has the authority to maintain its vehicle emission standards. Other states also are permitted to follow California’s standards. A dozen states have, and Colorado is in the process of finalizing the standards.
In 2012, California and the federal government agreed to create a national program that would raise new car mileage to more than 50 mpg by 2025. The Administration is trying to freeze mileage standards and prevent states from maintaining the current program.
“The changes you have proposed to this carefully negotiated program are not supported by federal law and will only result in higher costs for the American consumer and years of litigation and investment uncertainty for the auto industry – all while endangering public health and welfare,” the letter said. “We urge you to abandon the confrontational and counterproductive approach you have proposed, and instead work to preserve the coordinated national program by seeking consensus with the states.”
This Administration’s action is without precedent and its legal justifications outlined in the Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient Vehicles Proposed Rule for Model Years 2021-2026 have already been rejected by the courts, the letter said.