ENERGY/EPA/TRANSPORTATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “As the Trump administration moves to freeze vehicle fuel efficiency standards, some regulatory officials have disputed the Transportation Department rationale that the plan would significantly cut traffic deaths, internal documents made public on Tuesday [8-14-18] showed. The Transportation Department under President Donald Trump has proposed rolling back Obama administration rules requiring tough fuel efficiency standards and backs freezing the standards at 2020 levels through 2026. In a June 18 memo posted by the Environmental Protection Agency on a regulatory website on Tuesday, EPA staff said they believed the plan would increase traffic deaths by 17 a year from 2036 through 2045 because of an increase in vehicle travel, rather than reduce deaths by 150 per year over that time as the Transportation Department contended. The documents could give ammunition to environmental critics and states that oppose freezing the requirements.”
–David Shepardson, “EPA staff disputed claim fuel efficiency plan would save lives,” Reuters, August 14, 2018 1:53 pm