Tag: vehicle emissions

Attorneys General Take Trump Administration to Court on Rollback of Passenger Vehicle Emissions Standards

By Guest Contributor Jun 8, 2020 Energy

Updated: Jun 8, 2020

On May 27, 2020, 23 attorneys general and a handful of city attorneys filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient Vehicles (SAFE) rules revising extant fuel efficiency and emissions standards for passenger vehicles. SAFE effectively undoes President Barack Obama’s 2010 Clean Car Standards (CCS), which set forth aggressive fuel economy and greenhouse […]

An Interesting EPA Enforcement Target: Vehicle Defeat Devices

By William C. Schillaci May 12, 2020 Enforcement and Inspection

Updated: May 12, 2020

In June 2019, the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance announced its six National Compliance Initiatives (NCIs) for fiscal years 2020 through 2023. Before the Trump administration, the Agency referred to this program as its National Enforcement Initiatives. Regardless of the title, the program identifies sectors or types of activities that are in need […]

EPA Seeks Public Comment on Heavy-Duty Truck Emissions Proposals

By William C. Schillaci Jan 13, 2020 Regulatory Developments

Updated: Jan 13, 2020

In the second step taken under the Cleaner Trucks Initiative (CTI) it announced in November 2018, the EPA has released an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) to solicit public comment on the outlines of proposed emissions standards for highway heavy-duty engines, which the Agency says it plans to issue in early 2020.

EPA’s Actions on Vehicle GHG Standards Not Reviewable

By William C. Schillaci Nov 4, 2019 Special Topics in Environmental Management

Updated: Nov 4, 2019

Seventeen states, the District of Columbia, and seven of the nation’s top environmental groups petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to review the legality of the Trump EPA’s decision to withdraw the Obama EPA’s January 2017 determination that the Agency’s 2012 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards for model year (MY) 2022–2025 […]

Feds Say California and Automakers Are in Legal Trouble

By William C. Schillaci Sep 18, 2019 Energy

Updated: Sep 18, 2019

Following several stern tweets from President Donald Trump, the EPA and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) have put the California Air Resources Board (CARB) on notice that the voluntary framework the state reached with four major automakers “appears to be inconsistent with federal law.” The EPA/DOT letter urged CARB to disassociate itself from the […]

EPA Proposal Would Mean Reduced GHG Standards for Automakers

By William C. Schillaci Aug 13, 2019 Special Topics in Environmental Management

Updated: Aug 13, 2019

With several minor exceptions, the EPA is proposing to grant each of the requests four small-volume manufacturers (SVM) made for alternative greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards for their light-duty vehicles.

EPA Report Highlights an Upward Trend in Auto Performance

By William C. Schillaci Mar 11, 2019 Energy

Updated: Mar 11, 2019

In its 2018 Automotive Trends Report, the EPA states that estimated real-world CO2 emissions from model year (MY) 2017 light-duty vehicles were at a record low and fuel economy at a record high. The report covers vehicles manufactured in 2017, the most recent year for which the Agency has complete data. The report is based […]

Rollback in Vehicle Standards Opposed by Industry Leaders

By William C. Schillaci Nov 2, 2018 Regulatory Developments

Updated: Nov 2, 2018

The 60-day public comment period for the federal government’s proposal to amend vehicle fuel economy and greenhouse gas (GHG) tailpipe standards concluded with opposing views submitted by several members of industry. The proposed amendments were jointly issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) (Corporate Average Fuel Economy [CAFE] standards) and the EPA (GHG […]

California Objects to Vehicle Emissions Proposal

By William C. Schillaci Oct 9, 2018 Special Topics in Environmental Management

Updated: Oct 9, 2018

At a public hearing in Fresno, California, on September 24, 2018, three of California’s top environmental officials struck back at the Trump administration’s proposed rollback of vehicle carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions standards set by the Obama administration in 2012.

After VW, EPA Ramps Up Its Vehicle Testing Program

By William C. Schillaci Jul 27, 2018 Regulatory Developments

Updated: Jul 27, 2018

Volkswagen’s (VW) successful efforts to cheat the EPA’s emissions testing of light-duty vehicles with defeat devices became major public news in 2014 and continues to have repercussions today for those offices within the Agency that conduct vehicle testing and oversee compliance.