Heavy Duty Trucking, July 2015

WASHINGTONreport timeframe and is committed to working with EPA and NHTSA to ensure that the Phase II program is good for both the environment and its customers But the truck and engine builder took exception in principle to requiring separate rules for engines as being inconsistent with the groups interest in minimizing the complete real world environmental impacts of its products A separate engine standard is at odds with the reduction of NOx due to the natural trade off between NOx and CO 2 emissions from the engine It also limits manufacturers flexibility to meet the regulated targets for each individual customer in a way that suits their specific needs and it incentivizes optimization for engine test cell requirements versus real world efficiencies The American Trucking Associations also expressed reservations about the engine rule ATA Vice President and Energy and Environmental Counsel Glen Kedzie said that ATA has adopted a set of 15 guiding principles for Phase II and based on conversations with regulators and a preliminary review this proposal appears to meet 14 of those However he said ATA is concerned the new rule could result in the deployment of certain technologies that do not fully recognize the diversity of our industry and could prove to be unreliable This unreliability could slow not only adoption of these technologies but the environmental benefits they aim to create To prevent this truck and engine manufacturers will need adequate time to develop solutions to meet these new standards Kedzie added that the potential for real cost savings and associated environmental benefits of this rule are there but fleets will need a wide variety of proven and durable technologies to meet these new standards throughout the various implementation stages Taking a clearly dim view of the rules potential impact was the National Automobile Dealers Association and its American Truck Dealers division which had this to say Affordable transportation is the bedrock of the American economy and adding by the Administrations own estimate an average of just under 12000 to the cost of a new truck through mandates based on potentially untested technologies is a great risk to a still fragile economy The costs could even drive small fleets and owner operators out of business costing jobs and only further impeding economic growth Senior Editor Tom Berg contributed to this story Highway bill inching nowhere A bipartisan effort by four key Senators led the Senate Environment Public Works Committee on June 24 to recommend that the full Senate consider a six year bill that calls for spending 350 billion including 135 billion for national freight related building projects on surface transportation infrastructure The Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy DRIVE Act S 1647 was introduced by Sens Jim Inhofe R OK chairman of the EPW Committee Barbara Boxer D CA EPW ranking member David Vitter R LA chairman of the EPW Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure and Tom Carper D DE senior member of the EPW Committee However even if the DRIVE Act is passed by the Senate and then the House theres no indication yet that Capitol Hill will come up with the money anytime soon to fund the measure marked up by EPW let alone before the current legislation that funds the Highway Trust Fund expires at the end of this month On the other hand the EPW bill may serve as a tangible outline that helps give shape to a parallel long term funding bill As reported by The Washington Post a senior Senate staffer who worked on the EPW measure pointed out that Theres a cart and horse issue here and sometimes its better to say what youre buying before you write the check Our view is that you spell out a framework of what you get for the money instead of talking about everything in abstract Indeed in a statement praising Chairman Inhofe and Ranking Member Boxer for making a good start on crafting a bipartisan six year transportation bill Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx said that EPW had advanced the ball toward policy and funding goals that the Administration put forth in the GROW AMERICA Act but there is still much work to be done Regarding that work he contended in particular that infrastructure funding needs to be raised to a level that will adequately address maintenance backlogs and needed expansion Foxx also remarked that Unlike last year when progress stopped at this point I hope that the EPW committees work this week is just the beginning not the end of actions by Congress to address Americas critical transportation issues and bring funding in line with our countrys needs The DRIVE Act will provide states and local communities with the certainty they deserve to plan and construct infrastructure projects efficiently said Inhofe in a statement Boxer observed that The clock is ticking and action in the EPW Committee is a major first step the other Capitol Hill committees also need to act to fund the measure David Cullen 12 HDT JULY 2015 www truckinginfo com