Department of Transportation and Environmental Protection Agency Submit Joint Emissions Standards Proposal to Officially Roll-Back Obama-Era Standards

The Department of Transportation (DOT) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently submitted a joint proposal on revised fuel efficiency standards to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The proposal is expected to roll back Obama-era emissions standards. Back in April, the issue of fuel emissions standards arose when the EPA contended that the current standards implemented under the previous administration were too aggressive, to the support of many automakers. This followed up with the January release of an EPA report that noted that 2016 model year cars had not met the greenhouse emissions standards for the first time since their inception.

In this new proposal, the EPA has aligned its emissions standards regulations with DOT's corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards. The goal of CAFE standards is to reduce energy consumption by increasing the efficiency of cars and trucks. Once this new joint proposal has been reviewed by OMB, it will be sent back to EPA and DOT, following which, a notice of proposed rulemaking will be posted in the federal register and highlighted in ASME Capitol Update, possibly as early as next month.  

For more information on DOT CAFE standards, click here: https://www.transportation.gov/mission/sustainability/corporate-average-fuel-economy-cafe-standards