EPA and NHTSA Finalize One National Program on Federal Preemption of State Fuel Economy Standards

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) finalized the “One National Program Rule” previously proposed in 2018 under “The Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule for Model Years 2021-2026 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks.” Per this rule, EPA withdraws the Clean Air Act preemption waiver previously granted to California for greenhouse gas (GHG) and low emission vehicle (LEV) programs. NHTSA finalized the regulatory text implementing its statutory authority to set nationally applicable fuel economy standards, which makes explicit that State programs would also be preempted under NHTSA's authorities. Pursuant to this September 19, 2019 final rule, the agencies anticipate issuing a final rule on GHG and Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for model year 2021 to 2026 light duty vehicles in the near future.

For more information, refer to the final rule and EPA’s One National Program Rule website.