Twelve AGs Submitted Comments Criticizing EPA and NHTSA for Failure to Consult States on Clean Car Standards

JULY 23, 2019

New York Attorney General Letitia James led a coalition of 12 attorneys general in submitting supplementary comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) objecting to the agencies’ failure to conduct mandatory consultation with states during the development of the proposed rollback of national Clean Car Standards. Such consultation is required under Executive Order 13,132 for any federal regulatory action that will preempt state policies, which the agencies are attempting to do by weakening tailpipe emissions standards. While the EPA and NHTSA claimed in the text of the proposed rule to have met state consultation requirements, the agencies were unable to substantiate this claim with any records in their court-ordered responses to Freedom of Information Act requests filed by New York in September 2018.