Budget cuts from the Trump administration have left the Ann Arbor, Michigan EPA lab in limbo. 436 employees fear the lab may be shut down as the current administration proposes a 31 percent cut to the EPA’s funding. In turn, this would eliminate 99 percent of the lab’s funds needed to operate, according to E&E News.
What does this Ann Arbor-based lab do? It certifies every single vehicle that is slated to go on sale in the United States to ensure emission levels are in check; 4,500 engines and vehicles pass through the facility every year to make sure the public enjoys relatively clean air.
The Trump budget proposes automakers fund the difference needed to keep the lab running—some $20 million to make up what the federal government would not provide. Currently, not a single automaker has supported the proposal, which would indicate a willingness to pay for the operations. We can’t foresee any automaker willing to shell out millions of dollars the government has been responsible for, even if they’re digging Trump’s proposed tax plan.
Only one voice has echoed calls to keep the lab open. Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-MI) delivered a stark warning at a rally to keep the EPA lab open in her home state.
“This is a national treasure in Ann Arbor,” she said. “And we will not let them destroy it.”
Time is ticking, too. The lab is funded through the rest of 2017, but the future is cloudy beyond that.
Comments
Just shut it down. If latter people find that cars are running dirty there will be a lawsuit. That fear alone will keep everyone in check. Already the EPA is a dictator, being twice as strict as Europe. Cars are reporting decreases in efficiency with new regulations cause engines can’t burn as hot as they would want.
Would you or any other car buyer willingly trust any automaker to provide accurate fuel economy and emissions numbers? People complained for years that the cars they bought got nowhere near the stated mileage figures until the EPA and other testing organizations cracked down and developed new testing methods, which then forced the automakers to comply. VW cheated on their diesel engines emissions and look at the mess that resulted in. Not everything in this world has to wind up in lawsuits, just do the right thing for all concerned, including providing clean burning vehicles, and life will be good. but no they chose greed over their moral obligations, not to mention their legal obligations. Now you want the foxes to guard the hen house? Besides, how does 436 people losing their jobs help with Trump’s promise to create jobs?
That is true. We already read what Volkswagen was doing to pass the EPA test for its Diesel vehicles. That will cost them billions and that cost will be passed down to their new vehicles.
Jake:”Just shut it down”. That is Trumps’ way of doing business! The alternative is that the car manufacturers must pay the cost of the EPA test for every model or it cannot sell in the U.S. anymore. The cost is taken away from the profits and the customer will pay the MSRP anyway while trusting that the car passed the EPA test.
Here is the problem. The EPA like many other goverment agency’s is a bloated agency The has a lot of waste and also corruption.
While I do not say do away with it the agency should be held to a higher standard like a buisness.
Also do not let them be an activist organization that during the last administration took it upon themselves to reinterpret the law as pass into their own standards.
Check out the RapM and see how the EPA tried to ban all modification for race cars that are never driven on the street. This would have killed the racing industry and all their suppliers that employ many more people than the EPA. Also it contributes much more to our economy than the EPA ever has or will.
I thing accountability here is a two way street and the agency needs to be head to a standard.
My wife works for the goverment and we see first hand the waste of thespending with no profits only our taxes to pay for it.