Pruitt Said To Differ From White House, Wehrum On Vehicle GHG Approach. According to Inside EPA, “A key White House official, the auto sector and EPA’s own air chief are said to differ from EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and the Transportation Department on how far to roll back light-duty vehicle greenhouse gas and efficiency rules, amid uncertainty about whether Trump officials can avert a legal and political war on the issue with California. The concerns come as EPA and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have yet to propose specific, joint changes to the GHG and fuel economy regulations -- even though EPA formally unveiled April 2 its determination that the Obama-era limits for model years 2022-2025 are ‘not appropriate’ under the Clean Air Act. But Pruitt’s statements dismissing efforts to achieve program certainty after MY25 -- while also teeing up ‘reevaluation’ of California’s special air law waiver authority to enforce tougher standards -- are exacerbating concerns that a deal is not ultimately possible. ‘Did EPA [air chief] Bill Wehrum want a more moderate proposal than his boss did? I think [yes],’ says one industry source tracking the situation. Is White House adviser Mike Catanzaro ‘aligned with Wehrum? I think [so],’ the source adds, citing Trump’s top domestic energy staffer, who is in charge of coordinating activity between EPA, NHTSA and California on the issue. ‘But when you have Pruitt saying California is not going to be the arbiter [of national standards] and [rules for] 2026-2030 are off the table, you don’t have a lot of room to operate,’ the source says, referring to Pruitt’s statements before and during the EPA’s formal unveiling of its determination to weaken the GHG standards.” [Inside EPA, 4/6/18 (=)]

 

 

Op-Ed: Trump’s Evisceration Of Car Pollution Standards Spells Trouble For Colorado. According to an op-ed by Sophia Guerrero-Murphy in The Colorado Independent, “Already, Coloradans have saved $550 million at the pump since the standards were set in 2012. Under these standards, the average Colorado household would have seen $2,700 in savings by 2030—savings that won’t happen with this rollback. Moreover, these standards would have helped clean up Colorado’s air and mitigate climate change. Because of the rollback, emissions of smog-causing air pollutants from vehicles will increase by about 15 percent, making it harder for places like Colorado’s Front Range to meet federal air quality safety standards that protect our health. And, carbon pollution in Colorado will increase by 3.9 million tons per year, undercutting Governor John Hickenlooper’s recent executive order that sets goals to address our changing climate. For Coloradans, especially the 343,000 people who are living with asthma, more air pollution means more coughing and wheezing, increased risk of infection, and permanent damage to lung tissue. These health impacts disproportionately impact working families and communities of color. The greater Denver area ranked the sixth-worst in the country for bad air days in 2015, and we are still in not in alignment with federal air quality safety regulations. Removing the car pollution standards puts our air quality and health even more at risk. Colorado needs to step up its game in order to keep our skies blue and our lungs healthy. We can’t sit by and allow the Trump administration to wage this egregious attack. Governor Hickenlooper has shown his commitment to clean air so we look forward to working with him to give Coloradans what they deserve: a healthy environment and a strong economy.” [The Colorado Independent, 4/5/18 (+)]