The Environmental Protection Agency is eyeing nationwide reductions in air pollution from heavy-duty trucks in an effort it says will be a “holistic rethinking” of emissions standards and compliance for the trucking sector.
EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced Monday the agency is seeking input on reducing emissions of nitrogen oxides, or NOx, from heavy-duty trucks. The plan, which the agency has dubbed the Cleaner Trucks Initiative, is one area in which the EPA is seeking to impose new regulations, as opposed to tearing them back.
The agency is aiming to release proposed standards later in the year and take final action as soon as early 2021. The EPA said it is targeting 2027 for the new standards to take effect. The action would be the first time the EPA has updated NOx standards for trucks since 2001.
“The U.S. has made major reductions in NOx emissions, but through this initiative we will continue to reduce emissions, while spurring innovative new technologies, ensuring heavy-duty trucks are clean and remain a competitive method of transportation,” Wheeler said in a statement.
The EPA, in its advanced notice of proposed rulemaking released Monday, said there is broad support among stakeholders, including trucking companies, for collaboration with California. The Golden State’s air regulators have already been working on updates to NOx standards for heavy-duty trucks, which they plan to introduce early this year.
Under the Clean Air Act, California can set its own tailpipe pollution limits for vehicles that are stricter than federal limits. Its regulation of greenhouse gas emissions for passenger vehicles has been a main point of conflict between the Trump administration and California. The EPA and the Department of Transportation eliminated California’s authority for greenhouse gases late last year, though the state has challenged that move in court. The EPA has kept in place California’s ability to set stricter air pollution limits for vehicles, however.
The EPA’s emissions standards to date have reduced NOx emissions overall, but haven’t been able to properly reach emissions when trucks are idling, moving slowly, or are in stop-and-go traffic, according to a November presentation from Brian Nelson, director of the EPA’s Heavy-duty Onroad and Nonroad Center.
Heavy-duty diesel trucks are the largest contributor to NOx emissions from the transportation sector, according to Nelson’s presentation. He also noted those emissions would be a large contributor to ozone and particulate matter pollution in 2025.
Truck manufacturers are supportive of the EPA’s actions, and they are encouraging the agency to set “performance-based” regulations that give truck and engine makers sufficient lead time and market certainty.
“By doing so, we can achieve real-world NOx reductions, implement modern in-use compliance protocols, and streamline current redundant regulations,” Jed Mandel, president of the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association, said in a statement.
