Trucking news and briefs for Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023:
A group of 34 Republican Senators, led by Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Nebraska), on Thursday introduced legislation that would overturn new emissions standards on heavy-duty trucks that were finalized in December.
The Environmental Protection Agency in December updated emission standards for heavy-duty commercial vehicles for the 2027 model year, tightening tailpipe NOx limits to a level 80%-plus below the current standard and reducing particulate matter limits by 50%.
The regulation would also require that manufacturers extend warranties to 450,000 miles from 100,000 and useful life limits to 650,000 miles from 435,000 miles.
Fischer said the rule would hit owner-operators and small fleets the hardest, adding that it would also incentivize operators to continue using older equipment, nullifying what might otherwise be beneficial air-quality impacts stemming from the rule.
“The Biden Administration is saddling the trucking industry with an onerous regulation that would jack up vehicle costs and hurt good-paying jobs,” Fischer said. “This aggressive EPA rule -- which will hit mom and pop truck operations the hardest -- is also ineffective because it incentivizes operators to keep using older, higher-emitting trucks for longer.”
If passed and signed into law, the legislation would give the EPA rule “no force or effect.”
