President Orders Rulemakings to Increase Commercial and Light Truck Fuel Efficiency
President Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum on fuel efficiency standards, an initiative that will build on his goal to move towards improved fuel economy for vehicles, on May 21, 2010.
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The Memorandum will take another step forward to Obama’s goal to break U.S. dependence on foreign oil and create clean energy jobs by proposing the development of a national standard for larger trucks.
(Obama states that the U.S. has already made significant strides toward reducing greenhouse gas pollution and enhancing fuel efficiency from motor vehicles with the joint rulemaking issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency on April 1, 2010, which regulates these attributes of passenger cars and light-duty trucks for model years 2012-2016. See ITT’s Online Archives or 05/11/10 news, 10051115, for BP summary of the rule.)
Commercial Truck Fuel Efficiency Standards Rulemaking Ordered
The Memorandum directs the NHTSA and the EPA to work on a joint rulemaking under the Clean Air Act (CAA) and the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) to establish fuel efficiency and GHG emissions standards for commercial medium- and heavy-duty vehicles for model years 2014-2018, with the aim of issuing a final rule by July 30, 2011.
Rule on Increased Fuel Efficiency for Cars, Light Duty Trucks Also Sought
Obama also directed the Administrators of the EPA and the NHTSA develop, through notice and comment rulemaking, a coordinated national program under the CAA and the EISA to improve fuel efficiency and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions of passenger cars and light-duty trucks of model years 2017-2025. The program should seek to produce joint Federal standards that are harmonized with applicable State standards, with the goal of ensuring that automobile manufacturers will be able to build a single, light-duty national fleet.
Obama set a September 30, 2010 deadline for a Notice of Intent to Issue a Proposed Rule containing agency plans for setting stringent fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions standards for light-duty vehicles of model year 2017 and beyond, including plans for initiating joint rulemaking and gathering any additional information needed to support regulatory action.
(See memorandum for information on non-GHG emission regulations for new motor vehicles, promoting assistance for cities preparing for deployment of electric vehicles, etc.)
Whitehouse press release on the Memorandum is availble here.