The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is reportedly planning to revisit the Phase 2 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards (GHG2), which are set to come into effect in 2018.
Heavy Duty Trucking’s Deborah Lockridge reported that the last minute review comes on the back of concerns raised by “stakeholders in the trailer and glider (aerodynamic device, ed.) industry”.
“The trailer and glider kit sectors have argued that EPA lacks authority to regulate them under the Clean Air Act because their products are not self-propelled motor vehicles,” Lockridge explained.
“In addition, trailer makers contend that the agency overestimated the potential benefit, greatly overestimating average highway speeds for trailers and not taking into account how local and regional fleets would be affected.”
Led by the Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association (TTMA), several trailer makers and the glider kit industry had filed a lawsuit against the EPA in Q1'17, prompting some observers to believe the revision would lead to a potential settlement, while some labelled it a “capitulation” to industry demands.
Background
In September 2011, EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration set new Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Fuel Efficiency (GHG) standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles for model years 2014 to 2018. These ‘Phase 1’ standards did not include trailers, whereas the updated standards under ‘Phase 2’, covering model years 2021-2027, did. Compliance deadlines are set to begin in 2018.