CARB puts brakes on ZEV mandates

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) on Jan. 13 withdrew its request for an EPA waiver to enforce its Advanced Clean Fleets rule. The withdrawal means CARB is now no longer seeking to enforce its ZEV mandate on fleets. At least for now.

The move came just days before President-elect Donald Trump was sworn in for a second term.

“The trucking industry and American consumers can breathe a collective sigh of relief today after CARB finally bowed to reality and shelved its job-killing Advanced Clean Fleets regulation,” said American Trucking Associations president and CEO Chris Spear. “We look forward to President-elect Trump rescinding CARB’s remaining unworkable waivers and new leadership at EPA restoring a common-sense approach that balances environmental progress with economic viability.”

The Truckload Carriers Association’s senior VP of safety and government affairs, David Heller, said the withdrawal “can only be viewed as a major victory for our industry.”

“It goes without saying that our messaging during our Call-on-Washington in September was lasting and impactful,” Heller told TCA members in a statement. “Of course, the withdrawal of this waiver request arrives less than a week before President-Elect Trump is sworn into office but represents a significant milestone in our industry’s efforts to curb this unattainable regulation.”

NTEA, however, suggested the waiver withdrawal should be “viewed cautiously” as a positive development, but “the fight is not over.”

“The work truck industry needs ironclad assurances from the State of California that it will neither enforce the current ACF rule nor revise it in an attempt to circumvent the EPA waiver process,” the association said in a statement.

NTEA’s concern is that California’s withdrawal of the ACF waiver request to the EPA is “merely a strategic attempt” to preserve what it believes to be its ability to enforce the rule (or some alternative version) without needing a waiver, as California still has federally mandated air pollution requirements and state greenhouse gas reduction mandates.

Why revoke the request?

CARB withdrew its waiver request as part of its preparation for strife with the incoming president. After taking to the White House, Trump is expected to deny any pending CARB waivers.

Trump promised to combat emissions regulations during his campaign. “I will end the electric vehicle mandate on day one,” Trump said at the Republican National Convention in July.

Trump’s EPA nominee, Lee Zeldin, is also positioned to “ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions,” according to Trump.

In a voice of support for Zeldin ahead of his Senate confirmation hearing, the ATA threw its support behind the former congressman and argued that the current U.S. EPA set the trucking industry up for failure by imposing unworkable mandates on unrealistic timelines.

“America’s truckers deserve an EPA leader who will work productively with industry to set federal emissions standards that are achievable and do not risk disrupting our supply chains,” ATA’s Spear wrote in a letter of support. “Unfortunately, the current EPA failed to meet those thresholds and instead consistently conceded its federal responsibilities to the California Air Resources Board, creating a patchwork of state mandates and timelines for emissions reduction and forced electrification of heavy-duty trucking. We believe that under Rep. Zeldin’s leadership, the EPA can restore common sense to environmental policies, providing a national roadmap that is both ambitious and achievable.”

Behind the waiver process

Under the Clean Air Act, California has the unique freedom to set its own emissions standards that exceed EPA’s. CARB needs a waiver from EPA before it can enforce the regulations. States can choose to adopt the regulations that CARB sets.

ACF is a controversial zero-emission vehicle mandate directly targeting fleets. The regulation requires certain fleets to phase-in ZEVs and, by 2036, requires manufacturers to only manufacture ZEV trucks. It is the only remaining major heavy-duty emissions regulation that CARB did not receive an EPA waiver for. The other two recent heavy-duty CARB regulations, Advanced Clean Trucks and Omnibus, have already received waivers.