Court Sides Against Trump: Penalties for Fuel Standard Violators

Donald Trump was stopped by the 2^nd Circuit Court of Appeals in his attempt to let automakers get away with failing to meet fuel economy standards. The Sierra Club is part of a coalition of environmental groups and states that sued the Administration for issuing a rule indefinitely delaying an increase in penalties for violations.

“It’s important that the Court ruled that Trump can’t get away with rolling back penalties and letting polluters off the hook. The Trump Administration would rather side with the Auto Alliance over protecting clean air and the health of American people. This is an especially important victory for states like New Jersey where we have some of the nation’s worst air pollution already,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “Trump doesn’t care about cutting greenhouse gas emissions or air pollution, they care about making money at the expense of consumers. Luckily, the Court has sided with us and with protecting the important standards put in place to protect our lungs.”

Under the Obama Administration in 2015, Congress passed a law requiring all agencies to adjust civil penalties for inflation. As a result, they adjusted the charge for those violating the Clean Car Standards from $5.50 to $14 per tenth of a mile per gallon. After requests from the Auto Alliance, the Obama Administration delayed the implementation of the increase in fines to model year 2019 vehicles and after. However, shortly after taking office, the Trump Administration, with encouragement from the Auto Alliance, sought to weaken the civil penalties.

“The Court has sided with the American people by ensuring that these penalties are upheld. Auto makers must be held accountable if they fail to meet fuel economy standards. This decision is even more critical now that we have a President who is in lock step with the fossil fools in Washington. rump is not only a climate change denier, he continues to support fossil fuels over renewable energy. His actions will heavily increase our depends on oil, gas, and coal over things like solar and wind. This will increase proposals for dangerous pipelines like Pilgrim, while exacerbating the demand for oil bomb trains and offshore drilling,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.