Heavy Duty Trucking, September 2018

HDT SEPTEMBER 2018 10 WWW TRUCKINGINFO COM White House emissions rollback appears headed nowhere fast David Cullen Executive Editor dcullen@ truckinginfo com David covers legislative and regulatory issues for Truckinginfo com and HDTs monthly Washington Watch as well as writing substantive features for the magazine on management issues equipment trends and more He can be reached at dcullen@ truckinginfo com or 203 371 0040 he long anticipated move by the White House to roll back automobile fuel efficiency targets and to challenge the right of California to set stricter tailpipe emission rules faces an uphill climb on both the regulatory and the judicial fronts Coming in the form of a notice of proposed rulemaking jointly issued by the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Aug 2 the proposal aims to strike the right regulatory balance based on the most recent information and create a 50 state solution that will enable more Americans to afford newer safer vehicles that pollute less said EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler in a statement EPA and NHTSA are seeking public comment on various options including what they term a preferred alternative that locks in model year 2020 standards through 2026 providing a much needed timeout from further costly mpg increases The agencies said this option would prevent thousands of on road fatalities and injuries as compared to the standards set forth in the 2012 final rule which assumes that automakers would build lighter vehicles to drive up their MPG ratings The Trump administration claims that modifying the car standards would both reduce accidents and the cost of buying new cars The current standards have been a factor in the rising cost of new automobiles to an average of 35000 or more out of reach for many American families EPA and NHTSA stated While the proposed changes to the light duty tailpipe emissions standards will be challenged by a wide array of stakeholder groups during the rulemaking process the proposal to strip environmental front runner California from continuing to set its own stricter fuel economy and emissions standards for passenger cars and light trucks will be fiercely contested in court and could have implications for heavy duty truck emissions rules In a case of politics making strange bedfellows an eclectic range of environmental advocacy consumer protection and auto industry stakeholder groups along with state attorneys general have come out loud and clear against moving forward with the proposed rule changes The American Trucking Associations has also weighed in EPAs announcement to lock in the 2020 light duty fuel economy standards until 2026 will face a long litigious road if the agency and the 13 states and the District of Columbia that support increased light duty fuel economy standards cant resolve their differences ATA spokesman Sean McNally told HDT Noting that the Phase 2 truck GHG MPG rules are not part of this proposed rollback McNally added that our industry will be carefully following developments on this matter as they closely parallel heavy duty vehicle issues such as Californias waiver authority regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles and the underlying endangerment finding that concludes greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles endanger both public health and welfare California Gov Edmund G Brown Jr D California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and California Air Resources Board Chair Mary D Nichols said the proposal would eviscerate the current greenhouse gas emission standards for model year 2021 2026 vehicles and put in place weakened emission and fuel efficiency standards at the expense of public health the economy and the environment The California leaders statement also declared that for the federal government to withdraw the waiver granted to California for the states own GHG emissions standards and zero emission vehicle ZEV programs would be an unprecedented and unlawful action that flies in the face of congressional intent and would aggravate the harms to consumers public health and the environment caused by the weakening of the federal standards The administration proposal would also block the many other states that use California standards from moving forward Making their position as clear as day Gov Brown said that California will fight this stupidity in every conceivable way possible WASHINGTON WATCH An eclectic range of stakeholder groups and state attorneys general has come out loud and clear against the proposal T