Saturday, March 30, 2024

New EPA rules to curb heavy-duty vehicle emissions starting with 2027 models


New heavy-duty vehicles like freight trucks and buses will now be subject to new greenhouse gas pollution standards, the Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday. 
File Photo courtesy of Wikimedia

March 29 (UPI) -- New heavy-duty vehicles like freight trucks and buses will be subject to enhanced greenhouse gas pollution standards, the Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday.

The standard will apply to vehicles beginning in the 2027 model year, running through 2032 and will avoid producing 1 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions or the equivalent of the emissions from more than 13 million tanker trucks' worth of gasoline, according to the EPA.

"In finalizing these emissions standards for heavy-duty vehicles like trucks and buses, EPA is significantly cutting pollution from the hardest working vehicles on the road," EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said in a statement released by the agency.

"Building on our recently finalized rule for light- and medium-duty vehicles, EPA's strong and durable vehicle standards respond to the urgency of the climate crisis by making deep cuts in emissions from the transportation sector."

The agency also estimates the new regulations will "provide $13 billion in annualized net benefits to society related to public health, the climate, and savings for truck owners and operators."

The third and final phase of the EPA's Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for Heavy-Duty Vehicles aligns with its ​​Clean Trucks Plan announced in 2021. The agency's plan represents the most protective set of EPA regulations ever for the on-road sector.

The EPA unveiled the second phase of the standards in 2016.

The transportation sector is the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States with heavy-duty vehicles accounting for 25% of all emissions in that sector.

"EPA's standards complement President Biden's unprecedented investment in our workers and communities to reduce harmful emissions, while strengthening our manufacturing capacity for the transportation technologies of the future," national climate adviser Ali Zaidi said in the EPA statement issued Friday.

"By tackling pollution from heavy-duty vehicles, we can unlock extraordinary public health, climate, and economic gains."

The news is the latest move by President Joe Biden's administration to curb emissions generated by traditional combustion engines and promote green technology.

Earlier in March, the White House finalized a new EPA rule leaning heavily on the automotive sector to bring more electric and hybrid cars to market.

The new rule pushes the auto industry to have electric vehicles make up 56% of new cars or trucks entering the market with hybrids constituting another 13%.



Arizona lawmakers sue Biden administration over EPA pollution rule


March 27 (UPI) -- Arizona's Republican legislative leaders and the state's Chamber of Commerce sued the Environmental Protection Agency over new pollution standards.

The filing in a Washington appeals court on Monday said the new EPA standards were "arbitrary, capricious and an abuse of discretion" that would damage the economy and called on the court to vacate it. Arizona's Senate President Warren Peterson, released a statement saying it is being joined by House Speaker Ben Toma and the chamber in the lawsuit.

"The Biden administration should be rewarding American businesses for being the most environmentally friendly in the world," Peterson said in a statement. "Instead, they are doubling down on their left-wing agenda. Their rule will create unnecessary hardships for job creators and hardworking Arizonans."

Peterson said new construction that would improve safety would be stopped, permits in Maricopa, Pinal and Pima counties would be blocked and small businesses would be forced to pay for expensive new equipment and

Report: Bangladesh, India, Pakistan have highest levels of air pollution globally

He added that eight counties would be now ruled out of compliance with EPA guidelines and it would force jobs to go overseas.

"The EPA should focus on mitigating wildfires, the primary source of pollution," Peterson said. "It will detrimentally impact our power grid and create even more red tape for both small and large businesses. We have no choice but to ask the courts to provide relief from this tyrannical, arbitrary and illegal move by the EPA."

The EPA's new rule targets PM 2.5, which researchers say can get into the bloodstream and cause everything from strokes to heart attacks and asthma. The 2.5 microns particles can come from wildfires, fireplaces, wood-burning ovens, burning coal and other manufacturing processes,

The EPA finalized the new rule in February, saying it would prevent 4,500 premature deaths and 290,000 lost workdays, to $46 billion in health benefits by 2032.

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