WH curb on Calif.’s emission impossible

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration wants to slam the brakes on costly trucking emissions standards that California sought to impose on tens of thousands of vehicles traveling into the state.

But California says it has no plans to stall its national green energy polices pushed by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration.

The US Environmental Protection Agency announced Tuesday its final disapproval of the Golden State’s Heavy-Duty Inspection and Maintenance Regulation being applied to more than 50,000 trucks coming from outside the state or outside the US, according to state data.

“If California had its way, prices would skyrocket for truckers and businesses across America,” said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. “Affordable trucks are vital for keeping food and goods moving and prices low for families.”

The disapproval notice will still allow the Newsom administration to enforce the regulation for heavy-duty trucks registered in California. The trucks are defined under the regulation as non-gasoline combustion vehicles weighing more than 14,000 pounds.

“Today’s announcement is a whole lot of bluster about bean counting,” said California Air Resources Board spokesperson Lindsay Buckley in response.

“EPA has no authority over this program and we will continue to enforce the law to ensure that all trucks operating in California abide by the same rules — even if EPA doesn’t want to give us credit.”

In 2019, the Democratic governor signed a law that eventually directed the California Air Resources Board to pilot a program slashing the heavy-duty truck emissions.

Call for ‘bold action’

That resulted in the regulations as well as the board voting for the state to become “the first place in the world to mandate zero-emission trucks by 2045,” Newsom celebrated in an X post in 2020.

Newsom has also blamed the trucks for spewing out “nearly a third of harmful air pollutants” and called for “bold action” against the vehicles.

“CA will once again lead the way –phasing out the use of diesel-powered trucks,” he posted on X in March 2023, highlighting the potential effects of the emissions on California and the climate. “Trucks shouldn’t give our kids asthma. Make wildfires worse. Or melt glaciers.”

But EPA officials said the proposed regulation would have been unlawful, since it sought to interfere with interstate and international trade — in violation of the US Constitution’s Commerce Clause.

As a result, the agency noted the emissions regulations were improperly making use of provisions in the Clean Air Act of 1970, which orders states to assure the EPA that its rules don’t flout federal laws.

The regulations were part of California’s State Implementation Plan that the EPA reviewed to ensure it was abiding by federal air quality standards.

“The Trump EPA will never back down from holding California accountable and stopping them from imposing unnecessary regulations on the entire nation,” added Zeldin. “Americans didn’t vote for California’s policies to be imposed nationwide. They voted for President Trump’s policies that put working families first.”

If California had its way, prices would skyrocket for truckers and businesses across America.

EPA administrator Lee Zeldin