EPA steamrolls auto industry to rush out new regs

The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday rejected an auto industry request to extend the review period for strict new vehicle regulations, allowing them to go into effect before President Obama leaves office.

“The EPA continues to believe that the [decision] and the associated 30-day comment period remain appropriate and, therefore, the EPA is denying both the request for withdrawal and the request for an extension of the comment period,” Janet McCabe, the EPA’s air pollution chief, wrote in a letter to the top trade group for the automakers,the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers.