Trump Administration Proposes Rolling Back Biden-Era Heavy-Duty Diesel Truck Emissions Rules

The Trump administration on Thursday proposed to roll back a Biden-era rule on emissions from heavy duty diesel trucks, with the Environmental Protection Agency saying the change is "unworkable."

“EPA on Thursday proposed “targeted revisions” to increasingly stringent Biden-era limits on heavy-duty trucks’ emissions of a smog-forming pollutant”

E&E News by POLITICO

The EPA proposed lowering requirements for heavy truck emissions systems because of issues with the technology for new trucks and penalties for older vehicles that do not measure up, and the change is expected to save up to $6,000 per new truck.

E&E News by POLITICO

The proposal would shorten government requirements for engine warranties to 100,000 miles, from 450,000 miles, and delay a requirement that trucks meet emissions standards for their first 650,000 miles for three years, increasing from the first 435,000 miles.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said at the Great American State Fair on the National Mall that "These rules do not reduce the emission requirement," while the agency described the move as targeted revisions to increasingly stringent Biden-era limits.

Transport Topics said the existing version of the heavy-duty NOx rule finalized by Biden’s EPA in late 2022 was on track to extend useful life from 435,000 miles or 10 years to 650,000 miles or 11 years.

The Hill reported that the Trump administration is revising the warranty back down to 100,000 miles from 450,000 miles, while retaining strict emissions requirements for new engines.

The Hill also said the EPA estimates the shorter warranty would reduce the effectiveness of federal limits by 12 percent in the year 2055, and it proposed delaying an increase so trucks would have to meet emissions standards for the first 650,000 miles they travel starting in model year 2030 rather than 2027.

Fox News

NPR said the proposal would scale back and postpone two provisions designed to make sure emissions-reducing technology keeps working while a vehicle is in use, including one related to warranties and another related to useful life.

NPR added that the current set of rules requires truck engines to automatically operate at reduced power if emissions reduction systems aren't working, and the EPA proposes getting rid of that requirement altogether and replacing it with an alert to drivers.

Fox News quoted EPA air chief Aaron Szabo saying the proposal would eliminate DEF-related engine deratements and speed restrictions for new highway engines and vehicles, replacing them with warning alerts.

The EPA said the changes would save the trucking industry $12 billion or about $6,000 per new truck, and Fox News reported EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin saying, "when it costs less to move goods, it costs less to buy them."

“EPA proposes weakening heavy-duty truck pollution rules The Trump administration is proposing changes to what it calls "unnecessary and unworkable" Biden-era environmental rules designed to cut pollution from heavy-duty vehicles, including buses and large trucks”

NPR

NPR reported that the EPA’s analysis projects the change would increase ozone-forming nitrogen oxide pollution from heavy duty trucks by 4.2% in 2030 and by 11.6% by 2055.

NPR also said the EPA did not model the resulting effect on air quality or human health, but noted the modifications would likely reduce the benefits of prior rules changes in 2023.

Environmental groups criticized the proposal, and NPR quoted Katherine García of the Sierra Club writing, "Weakening them would mean more toxic pollution in the air and more families paying the price with their health."

The proposal is now open for a period of public comment, and NPR said EPA administrator Lee Zeldin stated in a statement that the rules changes "will ease real burdens for operators."