Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
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JOURNAL Court rejects EPA proposal A federal appeals court last month rejected the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ruling that allowed Navistar to sell heavy-duty diesel engines that don't meet the agency's 2010 emissions standards limiting the amount of nitrogen oxides in diesel exhaust. An interim final rule issued in January had allowed Navistar to pay fines and con- tinue to sell the noncompliant engines, but Mack Trucks and Volvo Group North America sued EPA over the IFR, argu- ing, among other things, that the agency had failed to give adequate notice and opportu- nity for comment. The three-judge U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia agreed, ruling that EPA didn't meet any of the statu- tory criteria for issuing a "good cause" exception. The court said Navistar's current financial situa- tion wasn't a proper justification for EPA to issue the rule without following normal administrative procedures. "The rule does not stave off any imminent threat to the envi- ronment or safety or national security," Judge Janice Rogers Brown wrote for the court. "It does not remedy any real emer- gency at all, save the 'emergency' facing Navistar's bottom line." The ruling is at least a tem- porary win for Navistar's com- petitors in the diesel engine market, all of which chose to use selective catalytic reduc- tion technology to achieve EPA's NOx requirements. Navistar's advanced exhaust gas recirculation solution does not yet achieve those NOx emissions limits, but the company has been able to use banked emissions credits in order to comply with the regulations while it continues its work on the technology. As Judge Brown put it, how- ever, "Navistar's day of reckon- ing is fast approaching: Its sup- ply of credits is dwindling, and its engines remain noncompli- ant." EPA issued the IFR after Navistar informed the agency in October 2011 that it might have as few as three or four that helped Navistar Exemption allowed company to sell noncompliant engines months of available credits remaining. EPA's rule allowed Navistar to continue to sell 2012 and 2013 EGR engines in the United States while pay- ing a noncompliance fine of $1,919 per engine. "Navistar will work with EPA to fully understand the ruling and its impact on the use of noncompliant penalties until a final rule is implemented," the company said. "At the same time, we will continue to coop- erate with the EPA on the final Non-Compliance Rule and will continue to work with the EPA on our 0.2 gram NOx cer- tification. Navistar continues to make and ship engines, and our customers will continue to receive the products they ordered with EPA-certified engines." – Jack Roberts LEADING NEWS, TRUCKING MARKET CONDITIONS AND INDUSTRY ANALYSIS PERIOD EXTENDED Safety fitness rulemaking expected in 2013, Ferro says SMS COMMENT T he Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on May 25 announced a 60-day extension of the time that motor carriers have to comment on proposed improvements to the agency's Safety Measurement System, the workload prioritiza- tion tool that helps FMCSA iden- tify motor carriers for safety intervention. During the extended comment period that runs through July 30, FMCSA is conducting further outreach to carriers to encourage them to review how proposed enhancements will affect their SMS score and take action to correct potential safety problems before the changes are imple- mented. Carriers can access the SMS Preview through either the Compliance Safety Accountability Website or the FMCSA Portal using the "CSA Outreach" link. For more information about CSA, visit http://csa.fmcsa.dt.gov. FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro – updating attendees of the CCJ Spring Symposium in Birmingham, Ala., on the agency's latest rulemakings – said the industry can be on the lookout for a Safety Fitness Determination proposal and perhaps a rulemak- ing in 2013. Navistar's advanced exhaust gas recirculation engines have not yet achieved EPA's 2010 NOx emissions limits. SMS replaced SafeStat to determine which fleets should be eyeballed for roadside inspections Continued on page 12 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | JULY 2012 11