There were criticisms and support for the new EPA rules to clean up heavy trucking
The 2027-2032 Heavy-Duty Environmental Protection Agency Rules: Technology, Costs, and Impact for the Bottom Line of the American Lung Association
Combined with separate Environmental Protection Agency rules restricting other pollutants from heavy trucks, the slate of rules — for model years 2027 through 2032 — are meant to address both carbon emissions that drive climate change and the soot and smog that directly harms human health.
PaulBillings, the national senior vice president of public policy at the American Lung Association, thanked the administrator of the EPA during a press call. “Thank you, Mr. Administrator, for responding to the comments from health experts and community voices and recognizing the innovation that is occurring every day in the heavy-duty vehicle sector.”
The rules are technology neutral and allow businesses to choose between hybrid, electric, and fuel cell vehicles or advanced internal combustion engine vehicles. It also estimates that the fuel and maintenance cost savings would reach between $3,700 and $10,500 annually for a heavy-duty truck purchased in 2032.
The EPA says it factored those challenges into this rule. The agency predicts no significant sale of zero-emission sleeper cab trucks until 2030, and even then, they would be a small fraction of the market. Trucks that travel shorter routes, meanwhile, would be expected to shift toward zero-emission models faster.
“One charging site for a heavy truck fleet could use as much power as the Empire State Building,” says Matt Horton, CEO of EV charging station developer Voltera. Still, he says, that technology exists, and the EPA’s rules are a boost to businesses like his because they provide some “certainty in the market” to help make long-term plans around investments.
Gelb says while the EPA did relax the early years of the restrictions, the ATA, which represents trucking companies, still has serious concerns about what the rules would mean for the bottom line.
“This misguided rule needs to be overturned by Congress but we are prepared to explore challenges in court if needed,” leaders of the American Petroleum Institute and American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers said in a joint statement.
EPA’s new rules to clean up heavy trucking met with support and criticism: The case for battery-powered big rigs and hydrogen-powered long-haul trucks
A school bus is parked outside. A garbage truck with its daily route. A long-haul tractor-trailer on the road for hundreds of miles in a day.
Already, battery-powered vehicles can handle shorter, consistent routes, especially ones that allow for easy recharging at a depot. The Biden administration is funding all-electric school buses, for instance, which appeal to school districts — and also reduce school-age children’s exposure to diesel fumes.
On the other end of the spectrum, long-haul trucking remains a significant challenge. Battery-powered big rigs and hydrogen-powered trucks are the two main candidates. hydrogen trucks are quicker to refuel but not cost-effective and would require a brand-new infrastructure to distribute that hydrogen. If batteries were heavy, they would reduce how much cargo a truck could haul.
The reduction in air pollution will benefit children who are prone to asthma because it will reduce their risk of attacks. Climate change is hurting everyone, including the children that I serve, so this rule will mitigate it in the long term.
The rule is a key part of the puzzle to cutting emissions from the transportation system, and Federal funding for freight charging infrastructure announced earlier this month will help the trucking industry meet the “ambitious standards.”
Source: EPA’s new rules to clean up heavy trucking met with support and criticism
Why is the federal government so aggressive? Environmental concerns in astrophysics and biophysics from small-business trucking to garbage trucks and 18-wheelers
The oil industry and biofuels industry, meanwhile, have both objected, citing not just feasibility questions but energy security and cost efficiency as reasons to avoid regulations that penalize the internal combustion engine.
The standards cover a wide array of vehicles, from city buses and box trucks to garbage trucks and 18-wheelers. The rules apply to manufacturers, and while they can decide how to comply, they are widely expected to use battery- powered vehicles.
Heavy-duty trucks have an outsize environmental footprint; larger industrial vehicles make up about 5% of the country’s vehicle fleet, but 20% of transportation emissions.
The rules were first proposed last year. The EPA made changes to the final rule after getting feedback from the public and industry.
“There’s nothing new about polluting industries trying to avoid having to clean up,” said Laura Kate Bender, of the American Lung Association, calling some of the industry claims about costs “outrageous” and untrue.
“This administration appears more focused on placating extreme environmental activists who have never been inside a truck than the small-business truckers who ensure that Americans have food in their grocery stores and clothes on their backs,” said Todd Spencer, president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, in a statement.
