EPA urged by 21 states to toughen vehicle emissions rewrite

WASHINGTON -- A group of 21 state attorneys general, the District of Columbia, and several major U.S. cities has urged the Biden administration to finalize stricter vehicle emissions rules than it has proposed.

The Environmental Protection Agency in August called for reversing the Trump-era loosening of vehicle emissions rules with a new plan to boost efficiency 10 percent in the 2023 model year and aiming for a fleet average of 52 miles per gallon by 2026. But the states and cities want more stringent rules.

"There is no need to wait to require further deployment of these technologies or to delay the massive economic and public health benefits of reducing these emissions," wrote the state attorneys general, led by California.