EPA proposes rolling back heavy-duty truck emissions requirements
The Environmental Protection Agency on July 9 proposed rolling back several Biden-era requirements aimed at cutting pollution from heavy-duty vehicles, calling the existing rules “unnecessary and unworkable.” The proposal would scale back and delay warranty and useful-life provisions that keep emissions-control equipment functioning over a vehicle’s life, and would eliminate a rule forcing engines to automatically drop to reduced power when those systems malfunction — replacing it with a dashboard alert to the driver.
By the EPA’s own analysis, the changes would save operators between $4,130 and $6,152 per affected diesel engine, but increase ozone-forming nitrogen-oxide emissions from heavy trucks by 4.2 percent in 2030 and 11.6 percent by 2055. Trucking groups, which called the automatic power-reduction rule disruptive, welcomed the move; the Environmental Defense Fund noted heavy trucks are only about 5 percent of vehicles on the road but the largest source of pollutants linked to asthma, heart attacks and strokes.
The proposal is one of a series of Trump administration deregulatory actions on vehicle emissions. As a proposed rule it now enters a public-comment period before it can be finalized, and — like earlier rollbacks — is likely to face legal challenge from states and environmental groups.