Trump’s EPA helps Congress to dissolve CARB waivers

President Donald Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency made its first procedural attack on California’s heavy-duty emissions regulations.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced that the agency will submit reports to Congress on its Biden-era waivers for the California Air Resources Board’s vehicle emissions regulations. The reports would include waivers for Advanced Clean Trucks, Heavy-Duty Omnibus, and Advanced Clean Cars II.

“The American people are struggling to make ends meet while dealing with rules that take away their ability to choose a safe and affordable vehicle for their families,” Zeldin said. “As an agency, we are accountable to Congress, but most importantly, we must be accountable to the American people.”

Earlier this month, Zeldin publicly resolved to rescind environmental policies targeting the automotive industry and energy production.

Targeting heavy-duty regulations

California has the unique freedom to write its own emissions standards but must have EPA approval to enforce them. States have the option to adopt California’s rules; several states currently plan to adopt Omnibus and ACT.

Trump combating climate regulations

The reports are one of many steps the Trump administration is taking to disassemble environmental policies affecting the trucking industry:

The Department of Transportation suspended all funding for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program and wiped its websites of NEVI data.
Trump directed EPA to review and possibly rescind its authority to set greenhouse gas standards.
Trump issued broad executive orders to eliminate climate policies and boost energy development.

Trump, with new control over EPA, has a significant interest in revoking environmental regulations such as those in California. The state already gave up pursuing a waiver for its other heavy-duty EV mandate ahead of Trump’s inauguration.

Omnibus and ACT are CARB’s most significant regulations targeting heavy-duty commercial vehicles. Heavy-Duty Omnibus, which establishes historically low standards for pollutants like NOx, received an EPA waiver in December, during Biden’s last weeks as president. ACT, which implements a zero-emission vehicle sales requirement for heavy-duty OEMs, received its EPA waiver in March 2023.

Several trucking industry groups frequently criticize CARB’s standards. The American Trucking Associations welcomed Zeldin’s announcement.

“This is not the United States of California. California should never be given the keys to set national policy and regulate America’s supply chain,” Chris Spear, ATA’s president and CEO, said. “Thanks to the leadership of the Trump administration, Congress now has one more avenue available to reclaim the keys from Sacramento and restore common sense to our nation’s environmental policies.“

What do the reports do?

Reports like these allow Congress to overturn recent agency rules. It is one of many avenues for the Trump administration to combat environmental regulations.

Under the Congressional Review Act, federal agencies must submit a report on a new rule to Congress and the Government Accountability Office. The report allows Congress to overturn the rule by issuing a joint resolution of disapproval. If both houses of Congress issue a joint resolution of disapproval within a set number of legislative days and the president signs the disapproval, it dissolves the targeted rule and prevents agencies from publishing similar rules in the future.

Although ACT received its EPA waiver nearly two years ago, Zeldin said the agency never submitted a report on it—nor on the Omnibus waiver in December.

“The Biden administration failed to send rules on California’s waivers to Congress, preventing Members of Congress from deciding on extremely consequential actions that have massive impacts and costs across the entire United States,” Zeldin said. “The Trump EPA is transparently correcting this wrong and rightly following the rule of law.”

California’s emissions standards are controversial, and both chambers of Congress have a Republican majority. There is a chance that Congress could dissolve CARB’s heavy-duty waivers. Congressional productivity is not guaranteed, however.