Letter to the Honorable Scott Pruitt, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency - Reverse Decision on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards

Letter

Dear Administrator Pruitt,

I write to express my strong disapproval of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) decision today to withdraw its commitment to the EPA's Final Determination made on January 12, 2017. The Final Determination maintained greenhouse gas emissions standards ("GHG standards") first agreed upon by federal regulators, automobile manufacturers, and environmentalists in 2009.

Beginning in 2016, the EPA led a midterm evaluation, in coordination with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and California Air Resource Board, to determine the feasibility of maintaining greenhouse gas emission standards for Model Year 2022-2025 Light-Duty Vehicles. After extensive technical and scientific examination, the EPA stated that "automakers are well positioned to meet the standards at lower costs than previously estimated." Therefore, the agency chose to maintain the agreed upon GHG standards in its Final Determination.

The EPA's Final Determination supported valuable clean air policies that first began with the passage of California's Clean Car Standards in 2002. This law required vehicle manufacturers to implement fleet-wide tailpipe emissions reductions beginning with the 2009 model year, and has reduced greenhouse gas emissions in California by approximately 30 percent. California's law was quickly adopted by numerous other states, and combined with the EPA's light-duty vehicle GHG standards implemented in 2012, we have dramatically and successfully mitigated the impacts of human activity that contribute to climate change.

In addition, the Final Determination reaffirmed the benefits of the federal standards, which provided health, economic, and energy security benefits including:

* Cutting approximately 6 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions and helping reduce the impacts of climate change;

* Increasing air quality throughout our country and ultimately protecting our public's health;

* Saving consumers more than $92 billion over the next nine years by leading to improved fuel efficiency and lower fuel consumption, thus saving Americans time and money needed to refuel their vehicles; and

* Reducing the United States' dependence on foreign oil by an estimated 1.2 billion barrels by 2025;

On January 18, 2017, during your confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, you acknowledged that the EPA Administrator is obligated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions when you stated that you respected the Clean Air Act's finding that motor vehicles and their engines contribute greenhouse gas pollution that endangers the public's health. Your attempt to revoke the Final Determination on the GHG standards is contradictory to your statement, made under oath, before the United States Senate, and is inconsistent with your duties as the Administrator of the EPA.

The duty of the EPA is to establish guidelines that will protect the public health and environment for the United States. The EPA's Final Determination on the GHG standards is a well-thought out policy that helps the EPA accomplish that mission. Therefore, I request that you rescind your withdrawal and continue to uphold the previous decision on the EPA's Final Determination made earlier this year.

Sincerely,

Kamala D. Harris

United States Senator

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