California clean-air regulators withdrew requests with the Biden administration to set tougher pollution rules in the state for heavy-duty trucks, locomotives and ocean-going ships that were likely to be denied under President-elect Donald Trump.
The requested waivers would have authorized the California Air Resources Board to set pollution limits that are more stringent than federal standards, a power the state has long held under decades-old federal law. The US Environmental Protection Agency had not yet acted on the applications.
In pulling the waiver requests, CARB Chair Liane Randolph cited “the uncertainty presented by the incoming administration that previously attacked California’s programs to protect public health and the climate.”
The move is an acknowledgment that the tighter California rules wouldn’t win approval under Trump. It’s also a signal of the state’s looming fights with his incoming administration over how to combat air pollution and accelerate electric vehicle sales.
The front lines of that battle are a California program mandating increased sales of zero-emission vehicles in the coming years, culminating in a ban on new gasoline-powered car sales in 2035. The Biden administration last month authorized California to enact the policy, setting up a fight with Trump, who has vowed to “terminate” EV mandates.
CARB’s Randolph said the state is assessing options to continue improving its air quality.
