CARB Chief, Top U.S. Regulators to Discuss Emission Rules

Top environmental envoys from California and the federal government plan to meet on May 23 to discuss the Trump administration’s plan to freeze vehicle emission and fuel economy standards, Bloomberg News reports.

The news service says Mary Nichols, who chairs the California Air Resources Board, will meet with Scott Pruitt, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and Heidi King, deputy administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

CARB has vowed to follow the tougher emission standards currently scheduled for 2022-2025, even if federal authorities shelve them for the rest of the country. A dozen other states follow California’s standards too.

The three regulatory heads aim to avert a legal showdown between federal regulators and California, which has power under the Clean Air Act of 1970 to set its own pollutions standards. In recent years the state and federal rules have coincided. Last Friday carmakers met with President Donald Trump to urge a compromise that would avoid protracted court battles or the return to regional emission standards.

At issue are federal emission standards that were to dramatically lower allowable carbon dioxide emissions by 2025. Doing so would raise average fuel economy requirements to about 35 mpg for petroleum-burning vehicles, because CO₂ emissions are directly related to fuel consumption.

Pruitt argues that California’s regulatory powers don’t include the right to set fuel economy standards. That authority rests exclusively with NHTSA.