EPA Refers California's Harbor Air Pollution Rules to Congress for Review
The Trump administration has forwarded two of California's harbor-focused Clean Air Act rules to the Republican-controlled Congress for legislative review, reversing precedent and angering environmentalists.
The first California Air Resources Board rule in question is the Ocean-Going Vessels at Berth (CARB at Berth) standard, which requires ports and ships to arrange for cold-ironing during port calls. Half of all boxships are required to run on shore power while at berth in California, and in addition, each carrier's fleet must reduce its overall emissions by 70 percent.
The second is controversial among towage providers. The Commercial Harbor Craft rule limits particulate matter emissions from harbor tugs, and the restrictions are in excess of the requirements of EPA Tier IV standards. In January 2025, shortly before the end of the Biden administration, the EPA approved half of the CHC amendments, allowing most of the rule to move forward. Operators have protested the rule, noting that diesel particulate filter (DPF) systems for tugs do not yet exist in class-approved form in the United States, and would create installation issues if they did. The Coast Guard has stated that DPFs in tugs could cause fire safety concerns, since the filters become unusually hot during regeneration cycles.
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Both of these CARB rules are more stringent than the standards found elsewhere in the United States. Under a long-term waiver provision within the Clean Air Act, California has the right to set its own, stricter air pollution rules - a legacy of the smog that afflicted Los Angeles in the 1970s, when the Act was written. Prior administrations have allowed these "waiver rules" to continue; the Trump administration is subjecting them to the Congressional Review Act, which provides a mechanism for Congress to repeal agency regulations. If the House and Senate vote to disapprove of an agency rule, and the president agrees, the rule is suspended.
"For more than 50 years, Clean Air Act waiver programs have been respected by Republican and Democratic administrations alike. Until now, no administration had attempted to use the Congressional Review Act to overturn these waivers," said Davina Hurt, climate policy director at Pacific Environment. "Instead of playing politics with our health, undermining the regulatory certainty businesses rely on and jeopardizing billions of dollars in public and private investments made under these life-saving rules, Congress should recognize this blatant overreach."
