The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation took formal action Wednesday to reverse an Obama-era decision to move forward with some of the strictest regulations for cutting emissions and improving fuel efficiency in cars and light trucks.
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao made the decision in a joint declaration just moments before President Trump was supposed to discuss the rollback at an event in Michigan.
“These standards are costly for automakers and the American people,” Pruitt said in a statement. “We will work with our partners at [the Department of Transportation] to take a fresh look to determine if this approach is realistic. This thorough review will help ensure that this national program is good for consumers and good for the environment.”
The Obama EPA had sped up the findings of a report it prepared that showed increasing fuel efficiency standards from about 30 miles per gallon to more than 50 mpg was achievable by 2025. But the auto industry refuted the findings, saying the determination did not account for lower gasoline prices driving increased demand for sport utility vehicles and pick-up trucks with lower fuel economy.
A divison of Chao’s agency, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, said last week that the automakers last year failed to meet fuel economy standards for the first time in 12 years.
“Today’s decision by the EPA is a win for the American economy,” Chao said in a statement. “The Department of Transportation will re-open the Mid-Term evaluation process and work with the EPA to complete the review in a transparent, data-driven manner.”
The review of the auto rules was supposed to start this year, with a final decision on its findings made in April 2018. But the Obama EPA decided to move forward with them at the end of last year.
