WASHINGTON--President Donald Trump's administration said on Thursday it is revoking California's authority to set its own auto tailpipe emissions standards and require some zero-emission vehicles, a move certain to spark a legal battle between federal officials and the most populous state over the future of U.S. vehicles.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler said the decision will ensure nationwide rules that provide "much-needed regulatory certainty for the automotive industry." Currently, California's more stringent vehicle emissions rules are followed by a dozen other states that account for more than 40% of U.S. vehicle sales.
California, for decades given the authority by the federal government under presidents of both parties to establish its own emissions standards, responded with defiance. The California Air Resources Board approved a resolution to allow the agency to pursue individual agreements with four automakers that in July agreed to voluntarily adopt emissions rules with California that were stricter than those proposed by the Trump administration but less stringent than rules pursued under Democratic former President Barack Obama.
The Trump administration cited those agreements as part of its rationale to deny California a waiver to allow the state to implement its own emissions rules. Revocation of the state's waiver authority will take effect 60 days after the formal publication of the action by the administration later this month. The move, which Trump had previewed on Wednesday, will have no immediate impact until the administration finalizes separate rules to weaken Obama-era emissions requirements through 2026, which Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said would happen within weeks.
"No state has the authority to opt out of the nation's rules and no state has the right to impose its policies on everybody else in our whole country," Chao added.
