New Mexico Environment Department says local clean car rules hinge on California’s rules

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The implementation of new rules to require cleaner cars in New Mexico hinges on the approval of a federal waiver in California. Now, the New Mexico Environment Department is asking the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to approve that waiver.

New Mexico has been working on creating rules to set stricter requirements for vehicle emissions. The proposal is based off of similar rules set by California’s Air Resources Board that require emissions standards higher than the federal guidelines.

The ability for California to set those higher standards comes from a waiver offered by the EPA. California went through a waiver request process for previous emission-setting standards and is now going through the process again for the latest California regulations. And New Mexico’s environment officials say New Mexico’s proposed new emissions rules depend on California’s waiver.

“In November of 2023, after a nearly 40-hour public hearing, the New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board and the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board adopted the Advanced Clean Cars II (ACC II), Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT), and Heavy-duty Low NOx Omnibus (HDO) [regulations] into the New Mexico Administrative Code. The Boards found that these rules are in the public interest of New Mexicans, protecting environmental health and public welfare,” the environment department wrote in a letter to EPA. “However, New Mexico is waiting for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to approve the proposed waiver for ACC II [the California proposal] to implement these rules. If the EPA declines to approve the waiver, New Mexico will fall back to the federal tailpipe emission standards.”

New Mexico Environment Department [NMED] Secretary James Kenney urged the EPA to approve California’s waiver in a February 22 letter. “NMED strongly supports federal approval of the Clean Air Act Section 177 waiver for California’s ACC II regulations,” he wrote. “NMED believes that California’s motor vehicle pollution control standards benefit New Mexicans in ways that current federal standards cannot.”