The Biden administration granted California permission Friday to enforce its zero-emission rules for lawn mowers and leaf blowers, a longtime object of Republican ire and a likely target of the Trump administration.
Besides approving California’s rule outlawing the sale of small gas- and diesel-powered engines, EPA also granted waivers Friday for emissions rules for refrigerated trucks and off-road vehicles like mining trucks and bulldozers.
The moves are some of President Joe Biden’s last attempts to safeguard California’s progressive climate policies from President-elect Donald Trump about two weeks before he takes office with a promise to dismantle the state’s regulations.
EPA’s approval of the waivers — which grant California the authority to set stricter-than-federal emissions regulations under the Clean Air Act — gives the state’s nation-leading rules an extra layer of protection from Trump and his allies. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) pledged Friday that the Republican-led House would prioritize ending electric vehicle policies and other Democratic climate efforts.
