Professor Rick Frank Comments for KCBS on California's Emissions Standards

UC Davis Law Professor Rick Frank, director of the California Environmental Law and Policy Center, was invited to do a live interview with San Francisco CBS radio outlet KCBS earlier this month. The topic was the Trump Administration’s planned rollback of USEPA mileage and vehicle emission standards, as well as its related threat to revoke California’s longstanding authority to enact tailpipe emission standards more stringent than those issued by USEPA.

Professor Frank told KCBS that the Trump administration would have a tough fight legally if it tries to revoke California’s waiver outright, since the federal government has never sought to revoke any of the 40+ waivers it’s issued to California since 1970 and there’s no statutory authority to permit such a revocation. He added that "California would have 'somewhat less of a powerful argument' legally, however, if the Trump administration refuses to renew the waiver the next time the state comes before the EPA with a plan to tighten state emissions rules."

Professor Frank is a leader in the field of environmental law and the founding Director of the California Environmental Law and Policy Center at UC Davis School of Law.