• Dan Dmyszewicz pumps gas at the APlus Sunoco station off Northway Exit 8 Wednesday May 23, 2018 in Clifton Park, NY. Undaunted by rising gas prices, Dmyszewicz is planning a family road trip to North Carolina for the holiday. (John Carl D'Annibale/Times Union) Photo: John Carl D'Annibale / 20043858A
Photo: John Carl D'Annibale
Image 1of/7

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 7
Buy photo
Dan Dmyszewicz pumps gas at the APlus Sunoco station off Northway Exit 8 Wednesday May 23, 2018 in Clifton Park, NY. Undaunted by rising gas prices, Dmyszewicz is planning a family road trip to North Carolina for the holiday. (John Carl D'Annibale/Times Union) less
Dan Dmyszewicz pumps gas at the APlus Sunoco station off Northway Exit 8 Wednesday May 23, 2018 in Clifton Park, NY. Undaunted by rising gas prices, Dmyszewicz is planning a family road trip to North Carolina ... more
Photo: John Carl D'Annibale
Buy this photo
Image 2 of 7
Buy photo
Dan Dmyszewicz pumps gas at the APlus Sunoco station off Northway Exit 8 Wednesday May 23, 2018 in Clifton Park, NY. Undaunted by rising gas prices, Dmyszewicz is planning a family road trip to North Carolina for the holiday. (John Carl D'Annibale/Times Union) less
Dan Dmyszewicz pumps gas at the APlus Sunoco station off Northway Exit 8 Wednesday May 23, 2018 in Clifton Park, NY. Undaunted by rising gas prices, Dmyszewicz is planning a family road trip to North Carolina ... more
Photo: John Carl D'Annibale
Buy this photo
Image 3 of 7
Buy photo
A pick-up truck tows a boat up the Northway Wednesday May 23, 2018 in Clifton Park, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale/Times Union)
A pick-up truck tows a boat up the Northway Wednesday May 23, 2018 in Clifton Park, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale/Times Union)
Photo: John Carl D'Annibale
Buy this photo
Image 4 of 7
Buy photo
Southbound traffic on the Northway Wednesday May 23, 2018 in Clifton Park, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale/Times Union)
Southbound traffic on the Northway Wednesday May 23, 2018 in Clifton Park, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale/Times Union)
Photo: John Carl D'Annibale
Buy this photo
Image 5 of 7
Image 6 of 7
Buy photo
A kayak loaded Jeep makes its way up the Northway Wednesday May 23, 2018 in Clifton Park, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale/Times Union)
A kayak loaded Jeep makes its way up the Northway Wednesday May 23, 2018 in Clifton Park, NY. (John Carl D'Annibale/Times Union)
Photo: John Carl D'Annibale
Buy this photo
Image 7 of 7

WASHINGTON - Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer said Wednesday that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s effort to undermine Obama-era fuel-efficiency rules may push high gas prices in New York even higher.

“This is a proverbial jalopy of a plan,” said Schumer in a conference call with upstate reporters. “I’m urging the EPA to make a U-turn on this very bad decision.”

Schumer was referring to a decision by Pruitt last month to roll back the Obama administration’s 2012 rule that would require the auto industry to increase the gas mileage on cars so it averages around 55 miles a gallon by 2025.

The Obama rule promised to save car owners $6,000 over the lifespan of their vehicles, Schumer said.

Pruitt’s rule is now before the White House Office of Management and Budget and has several steps to go in the complicated rule-making process before it becomes official.

The change is one in a series of industry-friendly scrapping of rules that were promulgated in the Obama era, actions that have earned Pruitt the enmity of environmentalists and Democrats. A series of ethical missteps has cast his future in doubt, President Trump has said the former Oklahoma attorney general is doing a “great job” although “I’m not saying he’s blameless.”

Schumer acknowledged that the EPA's reversal of its own action would not immediately affect gas prices, which average $3.07 statewide. In the Capital Region, they’ve gone from $2.38 to $2.97 on average in a year, Schumer said.

To bring prices down in the short term, Schumer said that Trump should “jawbone” Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Saudi Royal family into releasing more oil, which increase the supply and thereby lower the price of gas internationally.

Although the auto industry has lobbied for the rollback, their effort may come back to haunt them in the form of states like California and New York setting their own standards, which federal law permits.

Car manufacturers might be forced into producing autos for separate markets, a costly prospect they would want to avoid, Schumer said.

If fuel efficiency plummets, demand for gas goes up - an outcome that Schumer said would please another Pruitt constituency, the oil industry.

“The price of gas is high enough already. We don’t need it any higher,” he said.

Asked for comment, an EPA spokesperson replied: “We will respond through the proper channels.”