WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — A coalition of five US states filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration for unlawfully delaying the enforcement of new auto efficiency standards designed to curb pollution, state of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced in a press release on Monday.
"All federal agencies were required to increase their civil penalty rates by an act of Congress, the 2015 Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act," the release said. "The Trump Administration has delayed it, reverting back to the lower penalty rate instead. If the penalty is not sufficiently high, automakers lack a vital incentive to manufacture fuel efficient vehicles."
The release noted that effective December 28, 2017 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration increased the penalty for falling short of the standards from $5.50 to $14 for each tenth of a mile per gallon below the required rate.
The Obama administration doubled average fleet-wide fuel efficiency standards in 2012, requiring an average of 54.5 miles per gallon for cars manufactured beginning in 2025.
