Proposed rule would give automakers two additional years before implementing the standards that lower fewer vehicle pollutants
Chicago—Attorney Generals across from 19 states and five cities have told in the EPA in a letter this week that they oppose its proposed rule to delay implementation of the Tier 4 emissions standards for light- and medium-duty vehicles.
The proposed rule would give automakers two additional years before implementing the standards that lower fewer vehicle pollutants, including nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide.
In the comment letter, the coalition asserts that the EPA’s proposal to delay this compliance schedule, such that manufacturers are not required to take any action until they begin producing model year 2029 vehicles, would harm public health and welfare by delaying the benefits of stricter air pollutant emissions standards.
Under the current, Tier 4 standards adopted by the EPA in 2024, manufacturers are required to start implementation with their model year 2027 vehicles and will have to obtain Tier 4 certification for all light-duty vehicles by 2030 and for all medium-duty vehicles by 2033.
However, the EPA has now proposed to delay the start of this phase-in schedule for two years.
In their letter, the attorneys general and cities assert that:
- The EPA has failed to support with any evidence its claims that compliance with the Tier 4 standards is not feasible. In fact, the Tier 4 standards are still feasible and cost-effective based on the lengthy phase-in schedule and the flexible compliance pathways outlined in the 2024 rule, including low-cost, off-the-shelf controls for internal combustion engines.
- The EPA failed to conduct any air quality modeling; nor did EPA make any attempts to consider the economic value of the harm of delaying the Tier 4 standards on air quality, and, by extension, public health and welfare.
- The Clean Air Act does not allow the EPA to reverse course and weaken criteria and toxic air pollutant standards. It also does not authorize the EPA to make it harder for states to meet federal air quality standards, making this proposal, if finalized, unlawful.
The letters were sent from the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin. Also joining the letter were the cities of Chicago, New York, Denver and San Francisco.
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