Sometimes the biggest news out of Washington is what the government decides to stop doing.

On Monday, Aug. 31, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published a rule that amounts to a shrug at more than a decade of its own regulatory handiwork. NHTSA says it never actually had the authority to set separate fuel economy standards for truck engines in the first place. So it’s stepping back.

What The Phase 2 Rollback Means For Engine Standards

Since 2011, NHTSA and the EPA have jointly regulated truck fuel efficiency and emissions. In 2016, the two agencies finalized the Phase 2 program, tightening requirements in stages through model year 2027. Earlier this year, the EPA rescinded the 2009 endangerment finding, the legal bedrock under the Clean Air Act that justified its half of Phase 2. That killed the EPA’s piece.

Now NHTSA has taken care of its own piece. The agency found that while the Clean Air Act clearly lets EPA regulate engines and whole trucks, the Energy Independence and Security Act never gave NHTSA that same authority over standalone engines. The old standards technically stay on the books, but NHTSA says it won’t enforce the separate engine requirements while it writes a new rule. Standards for complete trucks remain in place for now.

Big Government Steps back

NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison framed it as getting government out of engineers’ way.

“American innovators, not Big Government, know how best to design vehicle engines,” he said, arguing the change should also lower new-truck prices.

The Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association welcomed the review, saying the current rules restrict how customers can spec their trucks.

What Alabama Fleets Should Watch

For now, nothing changes at the pump or on the spec sheet. But a new rule is coming, and it could reshape which engines and trucks Alabama carriers are choosing from in a couple of years.