EPA to reconsider vehicle fuel standards, may move against California targets
Source: Los Angeles Times
EPA to reconsider vehicle fuel standards, may move against California targets
By Juliet Eilperin, Brady Dennis
MARCH 3, 2017, 7:15 PM | REPORTING FROM LOS ANGELES
The Environmental Protection Agency plans to announce its intent to withdraw final determination on strict fuel-efficiency standards for future cars and light trucks, the latest signal by the Trump administration that it is charting a new course on climate change.
According to individuals briefed on the matter, the new administration also is considering issuing an executive order that would revoke California's ability to set its own, tighter targets for those model years. California is the only state allowed to do so under the Clean Air Act, but other states can adopt its regulations as their own.
Two associations representing the world's biggest automakers last week asked EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to reconsider the standards for model years 2022 to 2025, which would require the nation's car and light-truck fleet to average 54.5 miles per gallon by the end of that period.
Although automakers struck a 2009 deal with the Obama administration to set the first-ever carbon limits on cars and trucks, many of them now say it will be difficult to achieve these long-term targets given the lower price of gasoline and Americans' preference for sport-utility vehicles.
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Read more: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-epa-fuel-mileage-autos-20170303-story.html