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Hearing Held In Bangor On Trump Administration's Plan To Ease Fuel Efficiency Standards

A.J. Higgins
/
Maine Public
Carol Woodcock, a member of Sen. Susan Collins' staff, speaks at a hearing Tuesday night in Bangor.

BANGOR, Maine - About 50 people turned out Tuesday night in Bangor for a discussion on the Trump administration's proposed rollback of car fuel efficiency standards.
Co-sponsored by the Natural Resources Council of Maine at the Bangor Public Library, the citizen's hearing gave residents a chance to offer their opinions as part of the official EPA record on the plan to ease the standards, which reduce air and carbon pollution.
The event also included several guest speakers.  Among them was Sen. Susan Collins' area staffer Carol Woodcock .
"Sen. Collins has long supported efforts to improve fuel efficiency for new emissions that are a major contributor to climate change," Woodcock said. "Halting this progress by rolling these standards back could cost American consumers and businesses billions of dollars at the gas pump and could hinder the competitiveness of American automakers."
Bangor City Councilor Sarah Nichols said the City Council has endorsed a number of cleaner climate initiatives, ranging from new bike and pedestrian trails to rehabilitating city buses. "But all of this contributes to less carbon emission in the air that we breathe," Nichols said. "So when we hear that the current White House administration is going to roll back emission standards on vehicles  - damn right we're going to be upset."

Bill Wehrum, assistant administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, told The Associated Press that the president's plan would put safer vehicles on the roads.

Originally published 6:16 a.m. August 29, 2018