Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and 16 other senators sent a letter to the EPA on Thursday urging the agency to ensure a pending nitrogen oxide emissions rule is technologically achievable and affordable.
"We urge EPA to utilize the achievable and customer-acceptable 'Option 2' and to consider any new CMB GHG mandates in a separate Phase 3 rulemaking," the letter said.
Issued in March, the EPA's rule includes two options for reducing nitrogen oxide emissions. The first option aims to reduce the emissions by 90% by 2031. Option 2, which the letter and the American Truck Dealers support, would reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 75% for 2027 and later. A final ruling is expected by the end of the year.
Option 1 would potentially raise the price of heavy-duty diesel trucks by an average of $42,000 as well as increase operating costs and likely cause a pre-buy, no-buy scenario that would harm the market, the ATD says.
"The trucking industry has already prioritized healthier communities by deploying newer, cleaner and safer CMVs," the letter goes on to say. " 'Option 1' would place that priority at risk, along with thousands of well-paying jobs in Iowa and across the nation."
Option 2 would ensure CMV affordability and allow for increased fleet turnover with newer trucks that could achieve dramatic emissions reductions, the ATD says.
"With 50% of commercial vehicles on today's roads operating without the latest emissions control technologies, we need emissions standards that are viable for our industry," ATD Chairman Scott McCandless says. "A model year 1990 truck emits more NOx in one year than a new modern truck generates over a 30-year period. If truck buyers are deterred from purchasing new trucks due to increased costs and new, untested technology, these older trucks will stay on the road much longer."
In addition to Ernst, the letter was signed by:
- Sen. John Boozman, R-Arkansas.
- Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho.
- Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho.
- Sen. Mike Braun, R-Indiana.
- Sen. Todd Young, R-Indiana.
- Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.
- Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana.
- Sen. Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina.
- Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-North Dakota.
- Sen. John Hoeven, R-North Dakota.
- Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma.
- Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee.
- Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tennessee.
- Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-West Virginia.
- Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyoming.
- Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyoming.
