Under the SAB's authorizing statute, the Environmental Research, Development, and Demonstration Authorization Act of 1978, the SAB "may make available to the Administrator, within the time specified by the Administrator, its advice and comments on the adequacy of the scientific and technical basis" of proposed rules. On August 24, 2018, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Environmental Protection Agency published in the Federal Register a proposed a rule to amend existing Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) and tailpipe carbon dioxide emissions standards for passenger cars and light trucks, and establish new standards, all covering model years 2021 through 2026. The agencies' proposed preferred alternative is to retain model year 2020 standards though model year 2026.In this proposal EPA is relying on the technical analysis performed by NHTSA which is the basis of the joint proposed standards for both CAFE and light duty greenhouse gas standards. A workgroup of the EPA Science Advisory Board considered whether the SAB should review the science supporting the proposed rule. The SAB workgroup found that the proposed rule did not warrant further review provided EPA and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) agreed upon a rule harmonized across the U.S. However, the workgroup recommended that if the EPA and CARB could not agree on a harmonized rule, the SAB should review of pertinent scientific data in the different rules. The full SAB considered the workgroup's recommendations and decided that the SAB should provide advice and comment on the science supporting the proposed rule.
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