Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/815349
12 commercial carrier journal | april 2017 JOURNAL NEWS C M Y CM MY CY CMY K April_Ancra RAR_7x4.5.pdf 1 3/14/17 12:23 PM Untitled-22 1 3/15/17 8:28 AM Truck OEMs, orgs ask EPA head to maintain clean diesel program A band of trucking industry stake- holders, including some truck and engine OEMs and the American Trucking Associations, issued a letter last month to the new administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency asking him to ensure the agency continues to support the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act program. DERA offers rebates and grants to owners of diesel-powered equipment to aid in retrofitting older engines with more modern lower-emissions technol- ogy or replacing older equipment. In a March 3 letter to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, 20 compa- nies and organizations argued that the program "supports domestic jobs while helping to clean the air." "We estimate that almost three out of five diesel trucks and buses on the road today are more than 10 years old and emit much higher levels of emis- sions than the vehicles using today's technology," the letter states. "Without a program like DERA, these older vehicles will stay on the road until they wear out, increasing emissions that could be significantly reduced if replaced with newer technology." In his prior post as Oklahoma's attor- ney general, Pruitt sued EPA 14 times, saying the agency overstepped its legal bounds by implementing programs targeting fossil fuel use. He lost 13 of the cases; the other remains in litigation. As EPA administrator, he's said he intends to cut the agency's size and scale back its regulatory reach. Last month's letter from industry stakeholders aimed to convince Pruitt of DERA's merits. Signees include ATA, Caterpillar, Cummins, Navistar, the Truck & Engine Manufacturers Association and Volvo Trucks, in addition to others. The letter's distribution was spearheaded by the Diesel Technology Forum. Nearly 73,000 vehicles have been upgraded or replaced under the pro- gram since its passage in Congress in 2005, the petitioners say, noting that the act received "overwhelming bipartisan support" in both chambers of Congress. Such upgrades have cut fuel usage by a combined 450 million gallons in that time period, petitioners say. – James Jaillet New EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has sued the agen- cy 14 times, saying it had overstepped its legal bounds by implement- ing programs targeting fossil fuel use.