Biden Administration Aims to Make Driving Even More Expensive

President Joe Biden talks with EPA Administrator Michael Regan aboard Air Force One, Thursday, February 17, 2022, on the way to Ohio for an event on Great Lakes restoration and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. (Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz)

After ushering in an error of rampant inflation for fuel and necessities, the Biden administration is looking to implement measures via the EPA that will make driving even more expensive for consumers. Eric Niiler reports for The Wall Street Journal:

The agency is proposing to lower the current annual standard of 12 micrograms of particulate matter per cubic meter of air to somewhere between 9 and 10 micrograms per cubic meter depending on the final rule, the agency said.

Particulate matter is emitted directly from power plants, smokestacks, construction sites and farmers’ fields. It also forms in the atmosphere when emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from factories and vehicle tailpipes react with sunlight to form nitrate and sulfate particles. Naturally occurring sources of particulate matter include wildfires, windblown dust and salt spray from the ocean.

Under the proposal unveiled Friday, 112 counties that currently meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for fine particulates would be out of compliance and forced to make changes, such as reducing emissions from factories or requiring cleaner vehicles.

In December 2022, the EPA announced tougher emissions standards for heavy duty vehicles for engine manufacturers to lower nitrogen-oxide emissions from tractor-trailer-size trucks, as well as other delivery trucks, cement mixers and trash trucks.

The standards require manufacturers to create gasoline- and diesel-engine models with better exhaust systems. Industry officials said that could significantly raise the cost of new vehicles, which could lead older vehicles to stay on the roads longer, running counter to the administration’s public-health goals.