EPA signals changes to truck emissions standards

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to propose new standards governing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from heavy trucks, reports Reuters.

In March, the EPA issued a rule setting more stringent standards to reduce GHG pollution from heavy-duty trucks and other large vehicles beginning in the model year 2027, the agency says. However, those standards may be revised in light of the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) passage during the summer.

The Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association (EMA) says the EPA plans to seek comments on “possibly reopening Phase 2 of the greenhouse gas standards finalized in 2016.”

EMA President Jed Mandel says the organization expects the EPA to issue a Phase 3 GHG rule by the end of 2022, which would incorporate provisions of the IRA.

“Getting all these rules and regulations working in concert is extremely important and very challenging,” he says.  “The Inflation Reduction Act provides potential opportunities that did not exist when [the] EPA first proposed reopening Phase 2 earlier this year; however, it is unclear how the incentives under the new law will impact the industry in the near term.”

Truck makers have expressed cautious optimism about the potential new regulations resulting from the IRA.

In a statement overviewing how the IRA will improve the environment, EPA Administrator Michael Regan signaled changes to truck emissions guidelines.

“We’re going to reduce air pollution around schools and ports by replacing dirty trucks and heavy-duty vehicles with zero-emission options,” he says. “This means that your neighborhood garbage truck could become an electric garbage truck.”

Regan also states the EPA will “reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 1 gigaton in 2030.”

The GHG standards the EPA announced in March would take effect in model year 2027 and would reduce nitrogen oxide emissions from gas and diesel engines.

The Phase 3 regulations would take effect beginning in model year 2030 and are “significantly stronger” than the Phase 2 standards, says the EPA.