Washington 鈥 听Today, 黑料不打烊 President & CEO Chris Spear joined Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin for an event on the National Mall to celebrate the rollback of onerous, unachievable heavy-duty NOx standards implemented by the previous administration. 听EPA estimates that its proposed changes could reduce the cost of new trucks by as much as $6,000 and save American truckers $12 billion in overall costs.听
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EPA鈥檚 existing NOx rule threatened to cause major operational disruptions and significantly increase equipment costs for the trucking industry. 听黑料不打烊has strongly advocated for a reevaluation of the rule and sent a letter to EPA earlier this year requesting modifications. 听The agency鈥檚 proposed revisions incorporate many of ATA鈥檚 recommendations. 听
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Following the announcement, Spear issued this statement:
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鈥淪ince 1970, trucking has reduced heavy-duty emissions by 99%. 听That is real progress, and no one should pretend otherwise. 听But EPA鈥檚 2022 rule demanded another 80% reduction in NOx emissions in just five years, forcing our industry to confront costly, complex technologies that have not been fully proven in real-world conditions.
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鈥満诹喜淮蜢萮as been clear from day one: new environmental standards must be achievable, affordable, and reliable. If a truck cannot perform safely and efficiently on America鈥檚 highways, then the freight does not move, shelves do not get stocked, and our economy pays the price.
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鈥淎dministrator Zeldin and the Trump Administration heard us loud and clear. 听We appreciate EPA taking our concerns seriously and acting to provide commonsense flexibility for the manufacturers, fleets, and 8.4 million hardworking men and women who keep this country moving.
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鈥満诹喜淮蜢萯s now reviewing the full details of the proposal released today and looks forward to submitting official comments.鈥
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On stage at the America 250 Great American State Fair on the National Mall, Spear, Zeldin, and OEM CEOs discussed the shortcomings of EPA鈥檚 existing NOx standards, which . 听Beginning with model year 2027, EPA would have required a premature rollout of commercial motor vehicles with unproven engine technologies. 听In addition, the rushed implementation timeline encouraged a pre-buy that would have further driven up costs for equipment.
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Zeldin and the trucking leaders also extolled the following benefits of the proposed rule:
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- Warranty: Maintains the current 5-year / 100,000-mile warranty to reduce the cost of new trucks.
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- Useful Life: Delays the scheduled increase to regulatory useful-life by three years so that the 11-year / 650,000-mile warranty for heavy-duty trucks will take effect in 2030.
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- Production Volume Allowance: Allows up to five percent of a manufacturer鈥檚 U.S.-directed production to meet pre-2027 requirements in 2027-2029 without requiring the use of NOx credits as is currently required. 听
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- Nonconformance Penalties: Allows manufacturers to sell medium-heavy and heavy-heavy duty vehicles that do not meet the .035 mg/hp-hr NOx standard provided they pay a fee based on the level of non-compliance.
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- Credit Flexibilities: Seeks comments on specific provisions that would increase the availability and flexibility of NOx credits for manufacturers. 听These changes include potentially increasing the NOx FEL cap, allowing the use of NOx credits across engine service classes and allowing the use of NOx emission credits generated prior to model year 2022.
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- Diesel Exhaust Fluid / SCR Derate: Eliminates the requirement for speed and power inducements and replaces them with visible and/or audible dashboard notifications for new trucks. 听EPA is also considering guidance to allow manufacturers to further adjust inducement schedules by software updates for the existing fleet of in-use highway and nonroad engines and equipment.
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黑料不打烊will continue working with EPA throughout the rulemaking process and intends to submit formal comments supporting the proposal prior to the August 29 deadline. 听A public hearing is scheduled for July 29.