Abiding a White House order to scrutinize pre-2025 rules and regulations, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy moved in late April to repeal a 2022 Federal Highway Administration rule known as “National Performance Management Measures; Assessing Performance of the National Highway System, Greenhouse Gas Emissions.”
It required state departments of transportation and metropolitan planning organizations to establish declining tailpipe carbon dioxide emissions targets for National Highway System segments they oversee and report progress toward the CO2 thresholds from 2022 on.
“NSSGA applauds the U.S. Department of Transportation’s deregulatory move to repeal the greenhouse gas emission rule that would have caused unnecessary and costly delays for infrastructure projects,” said The National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association’s (NSSGA) Interim CEO Michele Stanley. “Aggregates facilities are heavily regulated before, during and after operation at the local, state and federal level. NSSGA members support reasonable regulations based upon the law and sound science that allow the timely extraction of materials vital for infrastructure projects, but objected to this rule, which would have been redundant, burdensome and lacked statutory authority from Congress.”
“The so-called greenhouse gas performance measure would have forced states to put important infrastructure projects, like road and bridge improvements, on hold to fund projects that would do little to facilitate the movement of people and goods. Secretary Duffy’s decision to rescind this measure is in keeping with Congressional intent and will help ensure that Americans and the American economy can keep moving,” said Associated General Contractors of America Vice President of Government Relations Alex Etchen.
In its Federal Register notice on its GHG reporting rule action, FHWA observed, “This repeal will alleviate a burden on State DOTs and MPOs that, had it been implemented, would have imposed costs with no predictable level of benefits and without clear legal authority. This final rule does not prohibit State DOTs and MPOs from choosing voluntarily to measure and assess CO2 [emissions metrics] on the NHS or other roads.”
Congress considered the GHG emissions reporting rule as part of Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act negotiations in 2021, but ultimately excluded it from the enacted legislation, according to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
“State DOTs look forward to working with U.S. DOT on implementing existing national-level performance measures for safety, pavement, bridge, and system performance,” said AASHTO Executive Director Jim Tymon, whose members concurred with the repeal.
“ARTBA members commend Transportation Secretary Duffy and President Trump for ending an unnecessary, ideologically driven mandate that would have placed new burdens on mobility solutions. Repealing the GHG rule removes a regulatory burden that would have increased project costs and imposed Washington, D.C., priorities on state transportation decisions,” affirmed American Road & Transportation Builders Association CEO Dave Bauer.
“States are best equipped to determine their transportation needs, but FHWA’s GHG emissions performance measures would have created unnecessary bureaucratic barriers to access federal funds. Ultimately, this heavy-handed approach would have scrambled local priorities and undermined highway expansion projects, leading to greater traffic congestion and higher shipping costs that contribute to inflation,” added American Trucking Associations Senior VP of Regulatory Affairs and Safety Policy Dan Horvath. “The trucking industry strongly supports the Trump Administration’s decision to repeal this rule that lacked statutory authority.”