Federal Officials Begin Complying With Greenhouse Emissions Ruling For Vehicles
U.S. Transportation Department officials Friday formally took steps to begin complying with a federal appellate court ruling last year that, among other things, required the agency to consider global warming when setting fuel economy standards for certain motor vehicles.
The move by the department’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration came a day after the California Air Resources Board reduced its previous requirements for the number of zero-emission motor vehicles that manufacturers must sell in the state in coming years. However, the air board’s chairwoman Mary Nichols also moved toward streamlining California’s automobile emissions standards, including those that deal specifically with greenhouse gases, so that they synchronize (see press release).
At the national level, the highway transportation agency published a notice in the Federal Register (see text) that it was moving ahead with plans to prepare an environmental impact statement on its fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks. The notice said the agency in preparing the document would “consider issues raised” in the litigation that resulted in a Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling last year throwing out the Bush administration’s earlier standards governing sport utility vehicles and other light trucks such as pickups. That ruling was based, in part on the fact that that officials gave no value to carbon dioxide emissions reductions (see text of ruling). The court ordered the agency to come up with new standards and to prepare a full environmental impact statement.
Friday’s notice did not say precisely when all the work would be completed, only that it expects to prepare a draft environmental statement for public comment and a final document to support the new standards “later this year.” It said the document would "consider the potential environmental impacts of new fuel economy standards for model year 2011-2015 passenger cars and light trucks" that the highway safety agency would be proposing pursuant to last year's Energy Independence and Security Act. That new law mandates improved vehicle mileage (see President Bush's press release).
Brendan Cummings, a California attorney for the environmental group Center for Biological Diversity, which successfully sued the highway agency over the mileage standards, expressed some cautious support for the new development. But, he told Climate Law Update, “it shouldn’t have taken a lawsuit for the federal government to realize fuel economy standards are one of the best ways we can address global warming.” He said a “true analysis of the societal and environmental costs” of carbon emissions would lead to “much higher fuel economy standards.”
Noting that the Federal Register notice avoids any mention of greenhouse gases or global warming, Cummings said the agency still appeared to be “in denial or delusional or intentionally hiding the ball, or all three.”
Eric Bolton, a transportation department spokesman, referred questions about the Federal Register statement to the document itself.
“Everything is supposed to be in there,” he said.
The California air agency’s vote reduced to 7,500 cars the number of non-polluting vehicles that major automakers are supposed to sell in the state from 2012 to 2014. The previous requirement had been 25,000 but officials realized that development of qualifying vehicles appeared to be lagging. The board also established a requirement that could result in 58,000 new plug-in hybrids over that same period. However, if manufacturers produce 25,000 no-emission vehicles, there are no remaining plug-in hybrid requirements.
In addition, the agency will move forward with plans to meld together its programs designed to cut smog-forming pollution, which was the original intent of the emissions standards, with those meant to curb greenhouse gases. Those latter standards have run into an obstacle at the federal level, where the Environmental Protection Agency has refused to grant the state a needed waiver to proceed (see previous Climate Law Update story). State officials have sued to overturn the decision.
“That’s to simplify the program and make it easier to understand,” said air board spokeswoman Gennet Paauwe. “What the board felt, it was time to overhaul the program.”
She said while the state awaits a resolution of the waiver issue it has to move forward with developing the regulations.
Nichols, in the air board’s statement issued Thursday, said the decision would lead to more green choices for consumers while continuing to pressure automotive engineers to make improvements.
“We must continue to push for all types of technologies – fuel cells, electric vehicles and hydrogen-powered cars – as we fight our duel battles against smog and global warming,” she said.
(Photo: California State University-Pomona)
