§7543 State standards

Summary

Stops states and local governments from making or enforcing their own rules about emissions from new motor vehicles and new motor vehicle engines covered by this law. States also may not require certification, inspection, or any other approval before a new vehicle is first sold, titled, or registered. The Administrator may, after notice and a public hearing, waive that ban for a State that adopted standards (not including crankcase rules) before March 30, 1966, if the State finds its rules are at least as protective of public health and welfare as the federal rules. The Administrator must not grant a waiver if the State’s decision is arbitrary, if the State does not need its rules to meet compelling and extraordinary conditions, or if the State’s rules and enforcement don’t match section 7521(a). If each State standard is at least as strict as the matching federal standard, it is treated as at least as protective. A State that has a waiver and meets its standards is treated as meeting federal standards. When a federal rule covers a vehicle part under section 7541(a)(2), States may not set standards or require approval for that same part, unless the State has a waiver under the rules above. States may still control how registered or licensed vehicles are used, operated, or moved. For nonroad engines, States may not set standards for new construction or farm engines under 175 horsepower, or for new locomotives or their engines. California may be authorized, after notice and hearing, to set other nonroad standards if it finds they are at least as protective; other States with approved plans may adopt California’s standards if they are identical and adopted at least 2 years before they take effect.