EPA to rescind glider kit emissions regs enacted last year

[kscarbel2]

James Jaillet, Commercial Carrier Journal (CCJ)  /  October 24, 2017

The Environmental Protection Agency has formally proposed to repeal the Obama-era emissions regulations placed on glider kit tractors. The glider-specific emissions regs have yet to take effect but are scheduled to begin being phased in starting next year. The emissions standards placed on glider trucks were part of the broad Phase 2 emissions rule enacted by the EPA in 2016, which calls for a 25 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by tractor-trailers by 2027.

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt earlier this year announced the agency’s intentions to reevaluate the glider-specific portions of the Phase 2 standards. The agency followed through on Friday. It filed a proposal with the White House’s Office of Management and Budget to repeal the “emission requirements for glider vehicles, glider engines, and glider kits,” according to a notice posted on the OMB’s regulations portal.

The rule’s glider kit restrictions would have forced glider vehicle makers to dramatically alter their operations to meet Phase 2 standards, as reported on in-depth last year by Overdrive. Glider manufacturers, such as Fitzgerald Glider Kits, have tried to engage Congress on the issue, arguing they make up such a small percentage of truck sales that they should be exempt from Phase 2 regulations. They have said the rule would “decimate” the glider kit business.

Friday’s development is a win for Fitzgerald and other glider vehicle manufacturers who fought the Phase 2 emissions standards.

The EPA also said it intends to evaluate the Phase 2 rule’s stipulations regarding trailer aerodynamics and emissions, following an ongoing and still unsettled lawsuit brought by the Truck and Trailer Manufacturers Association, which argues the EPA lacks statutory authority to regulate trailer emissions.

 

[Mackpro]

This is good news for those going that route. 

[Maxidyne]

Makes sense, trying to enforce current EPA standards on vehicles that can be assembled in any good sized garage isn't going to work anyway.

[Mack Technician]

Off the Phase 2 shortcut....

"However, to hit those marks, the agencies are asking for better performance from North American truck and engine makers and testing the imaginations of their engineers."

I received insight into how the engineers feel when they reasonably perfect a current emissions tier and the EPA tells them "Hey, guys! Let's TEST YOUR IMAGINATION". No cheers and party whistles in the office. 

[41180]

How long before they run out of good engine cores ? How many rebuilds before the block is no more good ? 

[Mack Technician]

 

29 minutes ago, logtruckman said:

How long before they run out of good engine cores ? How many rebuilds before the block is no more good ? 

Already in the works on that. "Cash for Smokers" Engine buy-back program started by Trump. Program goal is to tap South Am, Central Am + Africa for the Mack engines we chased out.   

Edited October 25, 2017 by Mack Technician

[kscarbel2]

EPA Aiming to Yank Glider Kits from GHG/MPG Rule

David Cullen, Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT)  /  October 31, 2017

The Environmental Protection Agency has begun the formal process to launch a rulemaking that would eliminate provisions affecting glider kits within the Phase 2 Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Fuel Efficiency Standards, which start to take effect in January.

The new rules as written call for allowing glider kits only for their original purpose, which was seen as reclaiming powertrains from wrecked trucks and reusing them in new bodies and chassis. This restriction is to become effective in January of 2021.

Back on August 17, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced that the agency would address concerns about the GHG Phase 2 rules raised by stakeholders in the trailer and glider industries by initiating “a rulemaking process that incorporates the latest technical data and is wholly consistent with our authority under the Clean Air Act.”

As far as trailers go, a court decision has outpaced any reform action by EPA. On Oct. 27, a court granted a motion by the Truck Trailer Manufacturers' Association that sought to stay the trailer provisions of the GHG rule until ongoing litigation regarding the rule ran its course and the agencies that jointly promulgated the rule (EPA and the National Highway Transportation Administration) determined their course of action.

That court ruling only pertains to the conflict over trailers, but now EPA has moved forward on its stated intention to strip the glider kit restriction out of the Obama-era GHG rule by initiating a highly targeted rulemaking.

According to the White House Office of Management and Budget, on Oct. 20 it received the proposed rule to repeal the glider , RIN #2060-AT79, titled “Repeal of Emission Requirements for Glider Vehicles, Glider Engines, and Glider Kits.” However, the OMB website indicates that the rule’s text cannot be viewed as it “has not been published in a Unified Agenda” yet.

Though glider kits account for a small percentage of total new truck sales, the older-model diesel engines they are powered by produce far more exhaust emissions than current engines, contended EPA during the Obama administration.

At the time, the agency had become concerned at a surge in sales, from a few hundred per year 10 to 20 years ago to more than 20,000 in 2015. Most of those were highway tractors, and were undisguised efforts to get around modern emissions limits and the expensive engines needed to meet them, the agency claimed.

As currently written, the glider kit restrictions will phase out gliders over the next four years. Beginning this January, volume production and sales of gliders using “pre-emission” diesels will be greatly curtailed. But low-volume builders, including individual truckers, may continue to buy and assemble glider kits using older engines until 2021.

For major truck makers, the battle over glider kits may amount to fighting the last war and therefore it is a conflict they may well prefer to sit out. Consider what Daimler Trucks North America President and CEO Roger Nielsen told HDT recently about glider kits. “Regardless of what happens with the glider rule, we’re going to keep to the [Phase 2] rules we agreed to. We have moved on, so in our business plans, we took it as certain that this would happen. That phase-out of gliders, that’s our course.

Nielsen added that “it’s interesting to watch the discussion,” noting that there are “not too many left providing gliders. There are certainly cases where customers need remanufactured engines to help replace wrecks, but the direction we are taking, and [at this point] still is the rule, that’s the path we’re going to take."

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[HeavyGunner]

On 10/25/2017 at 1:03 PM, logtruckman said:

How long before they run out of good engine cores ? How many rebuilds before the block is no more good ? 

I wonder why some aftermarket company hasn’t tried to by the rights or whatever it would take to build engine blocks? Maybe it isn’t feasible but it would be easier than keeping these emissions trucks running. 

[Maxidyne]

The Chinese are already cranking out clone cylinder heads and such, from what I've heard they're junk. I wouldn't be surprised if tooling for many 20th century big diesels is in China and 3rd world countries, what's missing is the knowledge and skill to make durable parts with it.

[41chevy]

My grandson works for CAT and said they spent 300 million to build a engine and gen factory there in 2010. Dayco has 2 factories there and Perkins is there building 165,000 + engines a year. All the companies say the products are for the Asian market, but a lot make it to our shores because of cost savings

Edited November 1, 2017 by 41chevy

[kscarbel2]

Being the world's largest market for heavy trucks, I spend considerable time supporting our effort there.

One point I'd like to make is that China for some time now is no longer a low cost production location. Wages are quite high nowadays making export prohibitive. Locations like Thailand, Vietnam and India are today's low cost production bases.

Production capacity is massive in China, to meet the likewise massive domestic demand in the world's largest commercial truck and light vehicle market.

China's heavy truck production plants are state-of-the-art, with assembly lines provided by world leaders like ABB (http://new.abb.com/automotive). They're not piddling with yesterday's diesel engine tooling, rather they're getting our full attention with advanced designs just one step behind the global brands. And they've done this in less than 20 years.

I've seen many suppliers exceeding OEM level!  If you want low price, you can still find it.....but you get what you pay for.

[Truck Shop]

                                           

4 hours ago, kscarbel2 said:

Being the world's largest market for heavy trucks, I spend considerable time supporting our effort there.

One point I'd like to make is that China for some time now is no longer a low cost production location. Wages are quite high nowadays making export prohibitive. Locations like Thailand, Vietnam and India are today's low cost production bases.

Production capacity is massive in China, to meet the likewise massive domestic demand in the world's largest commercial truck and light vehicle market.

China's heavy truck production plants are state-of-the-art, with assembly lines provided by world leaders like ABB (http://new.abb.com/automotive). They're not piddling with yesterday's diesel engine tooling, rather they're getting our full attention with advanced designs just one step behind the global brands. And they've done this in less than 20 years.

I've seen many suppliers exceeding OEM level!  If you want low price, you can still find it.....but you get what you pay for.

My brother spends several months each year  touring Asia. He has toured several of the large production facilities and yes they are state-of-the-art. For example on ISX Cummins the exhaust manifolds

stamped U.S. were junk the ones stamped China were good. We had several crack that were U.S. no problem with the ones made in China.

 

Truck Shop

Edited November 2, 2017 by Truck Shop

[kscarbel2]

EPA’s repeal of Obama-era emissions regs for glider kits advances

James Jaillet, Commercial Carrier Journal (CCJ)  /  November 9, 2017

The White House’s Office of Management and Budget has concluded its review of an attempt by the Environmental Protection Agency to repeal Obama-era emissions regulations placed on glider kit trucks, paving the way for publication of the proposed rule.

The OMB approved the proposal as “consistent with change,” meaning it issued recommendations to the EPA to alter the rule, but not substantively enough to delay its publication in the Federal Register. The EPA will likely publish the proposed rule in the coming weeks and accept public comments for 60 or 90 days. The OMB cleared the proposal just two and a half weeks after the EPA submitted it, signaling the administration is moving quickly to repeal the regs ahead of their effective date in January.

No details about the rule have been made public. According to a summary in the OMB’s regulatory dashboard, it would repeal the emissions standards enacted in 2016 by the EPA that threatened the glider kit industry because of its use of older engines.

The tightened emissions regulations placed on glider kit trucks were part of the sweeping Phase 2 emissions standards put in place by the Obama-era EPA. The EPA’s glider kit rule would not affect the other components of the Phase 2 standards, which call for dramatic reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases by tractor-trailers. Those standards will be phased in over 10 years, should the Trump EPA not alter them.

The glider kit-specific portions of the Obama-era Phase 2 standards would force glider vehicle manufacturers, such as Fitzgerald Glider Kits, to drastically alter operations to meet the standards. Fitzgerald said last year that the Phase 2 rule would “decimate” the glider kit business, which accounts for about 3 percent of total new truck sales each year.

EPA representatives said last year, however, that the roughly 10,000 glider kits sold each year emit about the same amount of greenhouse gases and NOx as 200,000 trucks with engines compliant with 2010 emissions standards.

.

[kscarbel2]

EPA Issues Proposal to Pull Glider Kits from GHG/MPG Rule

Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT)  /  November 9, 2017

Following up on an August promise to review Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Fuel Standards Phase 2 rule due to concerns raised by certain manufacturers, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a proposed rule on Nov. 9 that would repeal emission requirements for glider vehicles, glider engines, and glider kits.

As written, the new rule does not limit the kits’ production, but only allows them to be installed for their traditional uses, such as engine salvage.

The GHG Phase 2 rule, adopted during the final months of the Obama administration, is slated to go into effect Jan. 1.

Now, under the purview of Administrator Scott Pruitt, EPA is moving ahead with its promise to repeal the glider provision found in the 2016 Clean Truck Standards, despite support for the provision from some industry stakeholders.

According to The Washington Post, a Sept. 11 letter to Pruitt urged him not to reopen the rule, stating that glider kits “should not be used for circumventing purchase of currently certified powertrains.”

The letter was signed by executives from Volvo Group North America, Cummins, and Navistar. The companies noted that they were joining the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association, the American Trucking Associations, and the Truck Rental and Leasing Association in supporting the mandate as written.

Environmental impact and public health are two of the biggest concerns for groups advocating for full application of the Phase 2 rule.

According to the Environmental Defense Fund, used engine gliders can emit almost 40 times more pollution than modern engines and that, if allowed to operate until 2025, glider vehicles would cause as many as 12,800 premature deaths.   

“The health impacts are even more galling when you consider that this is essentially just a handout to one company, Fitzgerald Glider Kits, which manufactures the largest share of glider vehicles,” Dave Cooke, senior analyst in the Clean Vehicles program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said in a statement. “Fitzgerald’s CEO met with Administrator Pruitt in May to push him to reverse this rule. It looks like Administrator Pruitt listened, and he’s willing to do one company a huge favor, protecting a polluter at the cost of our health.”

Pruitt met with Fitzgerald Glider Kits May 8, according to his schedule.

Fitzgerald Glider Kits could not be reached for comment.

In the EPA request to repeal, the agency claims that representatives of the glider manufacturing industry wrote a joint petition requesting a review of Phase 2 rule. The petition claimed that EPA is not authorized under the Clean Air Act to regulate glider kits, glider vehicles, and glider engines and that the Phase 2 rule “relied upon unsupported assumptions to arrive at the conclusion that immediate regulation of glider vehicles was warranted.”

Petitioners also claimed a reconsideration of the rule was necessary due to Executive Order 13783, an “energy independence” order signed by President Donald Trump in March.

When Pruitt announced his intention to revisit the rule in August, he stated in a press release that EPA initiated “a rulemaking process that incorporates the latest technical data and is wholly inconsistent with our authority under the Clean Air Act.”

In the latest documents filed to repeal the rule, EPA cites court cases to claim that since there has been a change in administration, the agency must “assess administrative records and evaluate priorities in light of the philosophy of the administration.”

EPA now proposes to revisit the rule based on the view that it lacks “authority under CAA to impose requirements on glider vehicles, glider engines, and glider kits, and therefore proposes to remove the relevant rule provisions.”

Aside from the negative environmental impact of reopening the loophole, EDF said the repeal proposal “would unfairly disadvantage freight truck companies complying with current standards.”

The advocacy group claimed that glider vehicles have an unfair advantage over trucks that achieve clean air standards. It also said that reopening the rule could danger the clean freight truck investments made by truck fleet and put their employees' jobs at risk.

EPA will be holding a public hearing on the proposed rule at 10 a.m. Dec. 4 at 1201 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington D.C.  The agency said the hearing will conclude once everyone has had a chance to speak.

For those who cannot attend the public hearing, online comments may be submitted here.

[kscarbel2]

EPA Issues Proposed Rule to Repeal Regulation of Glider Kits

Transport Topics  /  November 9, 2017

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Nov. 9 issued a proposed rule to repeal the Obama administration’s Medium- and Heavy-Duty Truck Phase 2 Greenhouse Gas Emission and Fuel Efficiency Standards for the glider industry.

The agency has requested comment on the notice of proposed rulemaking through Jan. 5.

EPA said that under its proposed interpretation of the Clean Air Act, it lacks the authority to regulate glider vehicles, glider engines, and glider kits.

“The previous administration attempted to bend the rule of law and expand the reach of the federal government in a way that threatened to put an entire industry of specialized truck manufacturers out of business,” EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said in a statement. “Accordingly, the agency is taking comment on an interpretation of the Clean Air Act that recognizes the unique nature of a vehicle made up of both new and used component parts. Gliders not only provide a more affordable option for smaller owners and operators, but also serve as a key economic driver to numerous rural communities.”

The Obama administration maintained that even though gliders are not complete vehicles by themselves, they are highly significant components of tractor-trailer combinations and therefore they can be regulated under the terms of the Clean Air Act.

But President Trump’s EPA has said gliders are a specially manufactured type of heavy duty highway vehicle assembled from newly manufactured kits that include the vehicle’s frame and cab, to which a used engine, transmission and axles are added.

EPA estimates that about 10,000 gliders are manufactured annually, but comprising less than 5% of the Class 8 heavy-duty highway truck market.

Due to the unique way that gliders are manufactured, the agency said it is proposing that gliders should not be regulated as “new motor vehicles” or “new motor vehicle engines.”

“This action does not affect nor propose to affect EPA’s authority to address heavy-duty engine rebuilding practices under the Clean Air Act,” the EPA said.

The new NPRM says that according to comments submitted to EPA during the Phase 2 rulemaking, gliders are approximately 25% less expensive than new trucks, which makes them popular with small businesses and owner-operators.

“In contrast to an older vehicle, a glider requires less maintenance and yields less downtime,” the proposed rule said. “A glider has the same braking, lane drift devices, dynamic cruise control, and blind spot detection devices that are found on current model year heavy-duty trucks, making it a safer vehicle to operate, compared to the older truck that it is replacing.”

The Natural Resources Defense Council, an international nonprofit environmental organization, takes issue with the new proposal.

“Reopening this loophole is an unconscionable move that could cause the premature deaths of 1,600 Americans from just one year of dirty truck sales,” said Luke Tonachel, director of NRDC’s Clean Vehicles and Fuels Project. “Instead of letting these dirty trucks keep spewing up to 40 times more pollution than modern big rigs, the EPA should protect the air we all breathe from this dangerous threat.”

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[kscarbel2]

EPA moves to exempt gliders from GHG rule

Neil Abt, Fleet Owner  /  November 10, 2017

ATA's Kedzie calls decision 'perplexing' and warns of legal challenges.

Citing “the regulatory overreach” of the Obama administration, the Environmental Protection Agency announced a proposal to exempt gliders kits from the Phase 2 greenhouse gas rule for heavy- and medium-duty trucks.

The announcement drew criticism from Glen Kedzie, energy and environmental affairs counsel for American Trucking Associations (ATA). He spoke to Fleet Owner as he was still reviewing EPA’s 20-page proposal, but suggested legal challenges seemed inevitable and the decision could open the door for states such as California to take regulatory action.

“The agency’s position supporting the continued growth of the glider kit industry that produces the highest emitting equipment on our nation’s highways is perplexing,” he said.

EPA said that gliders should not be regulated as “new motor vehicles” or “new motor vehicle engines” under the Clean Air Act.

“Gliders not only provide a more affordable option for smaller owners and operators, but also serve as a key economic driver to numerous rural communities.” said Scott Pruitt, EPA’s administrator.

The Phase 2 rule, issued by EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2016, called for rebuilt engines installed in gliders to satisfy emission standards in the year they were assembled applicable to new engines. Though there was not an immediate challenge at the time the rule was issued, earlier this year Fitzgerald Glider Kits appealed to Pruitt, saying it would effectively put it and similar firms out of business.

ATA's Kedzie noted the trucking industry spent three years meeting with the government officials, environmental groups, and other stakeholders to develop a multi-phased rule that created certainty through 2027.

He said ATA supports the rule as originally issued and said EPA’s decision could invite California “to step into this space.”

Kedzie also worried about other negative ramifications in the coming years.

“This is just a moment in time. Nothing stays constant in Washington – that goes for the management of EPA,” Kedzie said. Likewise, changes in the make-up of Congress and the White House could lead to “a big push to make up for a lost opportunity as a result of this administration.”

He added the fleets paying higher prices for new, cleaner equipment are being undercut by those turning to gliders.

EPA estimates that about 10,000 gliders are manufactured annually and make up about 5% of the entire Class 8 truck market. However, the agency previously said gliders could account about one-third of all nitrogen oxides and particulate matter emissions from the sector.

Drew Kodjak, executive director of the International Council on Clean Transportation, said glider kits are “enticing” to a segment of the trucking industry because they are 25% cheaper to buy versus new truck. He spoke at a Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE) press event in Washington, D.C.

“Not having a DPF [diesel particulate filter], SCR [selective catalytic reduction] system and urea [diesel exhaust fluid or DEF] tank can save $10,000 in cost,” he explained. Kodjak added gliders can “poke a huge hole” in the fuel saving expectations of the GHG rule.

The agency will hold a public hearing on Dec. 4. Public comments will be accepted until Jan. 5.

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[Maxidyne]

The environmentalist's bad science is duly noted- NRDC is claiming the same "40 times higher" emissions as the environmentalists claimed the VW diesels emitted. The only way you could maybe make them crank out emissions like that would be to take off the turbo, half plug the air filter, disable all the other emissions gear, and crank the fuel flow to the max. The environmentalists are off topic too- The regulation in question concerns Green House Gasses, and the newer engines are no better with regards to those emissions and in some cases worse. And the environmentalists wonder why they have no credibility?

[kscarbel2]

U.S. proposes to reverse Obama rules on heavy duty vehicle 'gliders'

Reuters  /  November 9, 2017

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday proposed to undo pollution rules on remanufactured heavy duty vehicles known as "gliders," which environmentalists say generate as much as 40 times the pollution of modern engines.

The vehicles have a used engine in a new frame and rules introduced under former President Barack Obama, a Democrat, said new trucks on the road must use more efficient, less polluting engines.

The EPA has previously said that if gliders were allowed through 2025, they would make up 5 percent of the freight trucks on the road but would account for one third of all nitrogen oxides and particulate matter emissions from the heavy truck fleet.

The EPA under President Donald Trump, a Republican, said it was proposing gliders should not be regulated as "new motor vehicles" or "new motor vehicle engines" under the Clean Air Act. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said in a statement that the regulation "threatened to put an entire industry of specialized truck manufacturers out of business."

Sierra Club's Andrew Linhardt said the move to rollback the rules is "a blatant attempt by the Trump administration to rig the system for the glider industry at the expense of American families and jobs."

Glider companies told the EPA in July that remanufactured glider trucks are 25 percent cheaper than new vehicles and left unchanged the regulation couple prompt hundreds of layoffs. They urged Pruitt to reverse the regulations imposed under President Barack Obama.

Volvo Group North America, Cummins Inc and Navistar International Corp in September opposed Pruitt's move and said the Obama rule should remain in place. Glider kits "should not be used for circumventing purchase of currently certified powertrains." The move could inflict "uncertainty and damage to our industry," they added.

Environmentalists said sales of gliders have risen tenfold from the 1,000 sold annually in 2007. EPA estimates that about 10,000 gliders are manufactured annually, comprising less than five percent of heavy duty trucks.

American Trucking Associations' environmental counsel Glen Kedzie said the EPA's "position supporting the continued growth of the glider kit industry that produces the highest emitting equipment on our nation's highways is perplexing."

In August 2016, the Obama administration issued final rules to cut greenhouse gas emissions from medium and heavy duty trucks through 2027, a sector that accounts for 20 percent of carbon pollution from vehicles.

The commercial vehicle rules would cut 1.1 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, the Obama administration estimated. Fuel costs would be cut by about $170 billion, surpassing the $25 billion projected costs for new technology, it said.

[kscarbel2]

 

[kscarbel2]

Carriers can comment on EPA’s glider kit emissions exemption plan until January 5

Commercial Carrier Journal (CCJ)  /  November 28, 2017

Truckers and other industry stakeholders have until January 5 to file formal comments on the EPA’s proposal to exempt glider kit vehicles from the Phase 2 tractor-trailer emissions standards enacted last year by the Obama Administration.

The EPA earlier this month announced its plan to reclassify glider kits as non-new vehicles, thereby restricting the EPA’s ability to regulate their exhaust emissions, and to repeal the glider kit-specific provisions of the Phase 2 emissions regulations.

Public comments can be made at this link.

The remainder of the Phase 2 standards will remain intact. The sweeping regulations call for a roughly 25 percent reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases of tractor-trailers by 2027, with phased-in benchmarks set in the meantime to help manufacturers work toward the EPA’s requirements.

The glider kit regulations set by the Phase 2 rule are slated to take effect in January. The EPA likely will move quickly after the end of the comment period to finalize the rule and exempt glider kit manufacturers from compliance. The regs only applied to new glider kit vehicles, not those already in operation. 

The Phase 2 standards did offer a limited exemption for glider kit builders and individuals who build less than 300 kits a year. Manufacturers like Fitzgerald’s, and even some truck OEMs, can build thousands of glider kits a year, meaning they would have had to drastically alter their operations to meet the Phase 2 rule’s standards.

The EPA claimed that 10,000 glider kits, which is roughly the amount sold each year in the U.S., produced nearly the same amount of emissions of greenhouse gases and NOx as 200,000 modern trucks and engines. Fresh research from Tennessee Tech University, published this year, refuted that claim, however. The EPA leaned on the new research in deciding to repeal the glider kit emissions regs set by the Phase 2 rule.

[BillyT]

KSB, having been retired for 9 years,I admit to being "out of the loop" concerning emissions and other regs! Do all new glider kits have the technology that that requires electronic logs, or is it dependant on the year of the engine being installed? I've been seeing older trucks in ads being promoted as being "pre emissions" trucks! Also are new glider kits required to include incompetence mitigation devices such as automatic emergency braking and lane drift technology or are these optional (like they presently are on automobiles?) Like most competent drivers I deplore having to pay for these! I predict these will soon be required due to legislation lobbied for by our friends in the insurance lobby! Sorry for getting "political" I couldn't help myself!😁

[Maxidyne]

IIRC, gliders with engines 2000 or later will have to have ELDs, unless they fall under another exemption. Those "pre emissions" engines are probably mislabeled, as we've had heavy duty diesel emissions regs in the U.S. since the mid 80s, and any older cores were mostly long ago melted down. As far as safety equipment, it'd be nice to lose some of the nanny stuff, but basic stuff like ABS should be required and I suspect a lot of gliders do not have functional ABS.

[kscarbel2]

EPA Urged Not to Repeal Rule Regulating Glider Truck Emissions

Eric Miller, Transport Topics  /  December 4, 2017

Dozens of advocates on Dec. 4 urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency not to repeal a provision in the 2016 Obama administration Phase 2 greenhouse gas reduction rule to regulate emissions requirements for glider kits.

In an EPA hearing, roughly 60 people testified that the estimated 10,000 glider kits currently in existence — trucks with new chassis but older remanufactured engines — were among the “oldest, dirtiest, deadliest” vehicles on U.S. highways. They represented trucking trade associations, health and environmental non-profits, private citizens, truck dealers and manufacturers.

The EPA hearing was held in response to a proposed rule issued last month to repeal medium- and heavy-duty truck Phase 2 greenhouse gas emission and fuel efficiency standards for the glider industry.

“The previous administration attempted to bend the rule of law and expand the reach of the federal government in a way that threatened to put an entire industry of specialized truck manufacturers out of business,” EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said in a recent statement.

Pruitt said that gliders not only provide a more affordable option for smaller owners and operators, but also serve as a key economic driver to numerous rural communities.

But virtually all of the commenters at the hearing blasted the repeal plan with pitches that ranged from detailing the effects of truck pollution to blunt accusations that Pruitt is more concerned with the health of the glider kit industry than the U.S. population.

A decade ago, glider kits in the U.S. were mostly limited to vehicles that had been in an accident that left the body unrepairable, but the powertrain still intact, Rachel Muncrief, who directs the heavy-duty vehicles program for the International Council on Clean Transportation, told EPA officials.

But in recent years sales of gliders have increased exponentially as a “deliberate attempt by glider kit manufacturers and assemblers to circumvent emissions control regulations,” Muncrief said.

Susan Alt, senior vice president of public affairs for Volvo Group North America, said that these days most glider buyers are not small operators, but often medium and large fleets.

“The EPA recently conducted comparison testing of late model glider vehicles with late model OEM products,” Alt told EPA officials. “EPA found that glider vehicles emitted 43 times more NOx and 55 times more soot in highway conditions compared to today’s low-emission diesel vehicles.”

Glen Kedzie, vice president and energy & environmental counsel for American Trucking Associations, said that by EPA’s own admission, glider vehicles may account for as much as 33% of total NOx emissions from all heavy-duty on-highway vehicles by 2025 if left unchecked.

ATA opposes a repeal of the glider provision, Kedzie said.

“It is well-known that gliders are purchased to save money, avoid maintenance costs and weight penalties, skirt federal excise tax payments, elude the use of engine technologies that virtually eliminate NOx and PM emissions, and to avoid the installation of safety equipment in pre-2000 vehicles under the electronic logging device rule which goes into effect Dec. 18,” Kedzie told EPA officials.

Luke Tonachel, Director of the Clean Vehicles and Fuels Project at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said the repeal of the glider provision would “open a deadly, dirty truck loophole” that could lead to thousands of premature deaths.

“This is astounding and dangerous,” Tonachel said. “Allowing this to occur, completely goes against EPA’s mission to safeguard public health by ensuring that we have clean air.”

Patrick Quinn, executive director of the Heavy Duty Fuel Efficiency Leadership Group, said his organization is concerned that EPA’s decision to encourage the continued growth of the glider industry undermines the significant emissions reduction investments of many motor carriers.

“EPA’s proposed repeal of emissions requirements for gliders has the anticipated effect of expanding glider production,” Quinn said. “Truck and engine manufacturers will face a significant competitive disadvantage.”

“Here we have Scott Pruitt’s EPA trying to pull a fast one on us in plain sight,” said Molly Rauch, public health policy director for the New York City-based Moms Clean Air Force. “As moms who care about our children’s health, we say, ‘No.’ ”

“This is just one part of an all-out assault on public health from EPA. This EPA is showing a support for dirty tailpipes and dirty smoke stacks.”

“The consequences of reversing the common-sense 2016 standards are far from esoteric,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.). “I am baffled and confounded as to why the EPA would even consider repealing such an important, well-designed and effective public health rule.

“I’m mystified as to why EPA would today consider reopening a loophole to allow outdated killer diesel engines to re-pollute our air in the form of glider vehicles. Where is the lobby for turning the clock back to more and more deadly air pollution?”

.

[kscarbel2]

Volvo's Susan Alt.....a picture speaks a thousand words.

[kscarbel2]

EPA Proposal to Exempt Gliders from GHG Regs Draws Criticism in Hearing

Deborah Lockridge, Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT)  /  December 4, 2017

Opponents of the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to roll back the glider kit portion of its greenhouse gas emissions regulations testified Monday that the agency is ignoring its own research and that excepting gliders will put truck and engine makers at a significant competitive disadvantage.

A public hearing in Washington, D.C., Monday, was scheduled to gather comment on the EPA’s recent proposed rulemaking to eliminate provisions affecting glider kits within the Phase 2 Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Fuel Efficiency Standards, which start to take effect in January.

The Phase 2 rules as written would allow glider kits only for their original purpose, which was seen as reclaiming powertrains from wrecked trucks and reusing them in new bodies and chassis. But the EPA announced earlier this fall a proposal to drop the glider kit portion of the regulation.

Rachel Muncrief, the heavy-duty program director for the International Council on Clean Transportation and a participant in Monday's hearing, called them “zombie trucks,” writing in a recent blog post, “Scott Pruitt’s EPA is bringing the oldest and dirtiest diesel engines back from the dead—but disguising them in a shiny new host body. How? In the form of the innocuous-sounding glider truck.”

The EPA’s proposal to undo the glider kit portion of the GHG regs “would undermine investments made in the industry, encourage the use of older, less efficient technologies, and increase smog-forming pollution that harms public health,” said Pat Quinn, executive director of the Heavy Duty Fuel Efficiency Leadership Group. This “informal alliance” of companies involved in trucking, including Cummins, Eaton, FedEx, PepsiCo, Wabash National and Waste Management, supports the development of national fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emission regulations for heavy-duty vehicles.

“Truck and engine manufacturers over the past 10 years have made enormous investments in sophisticated emission control technologies to comply with current emissions standards,” Quinn said. “If EPA’s proposed repeal of emission requirements for gliders has the anticipated effect of expanding glider production, truck and engine manufacturers will face a significant competitive disadvantage.”

Dueling data

Quinn was one of a number of speakers citing EPA’s own data. That data, he said, “suggests that gliders have become much more common since 2010, when the agency’s latest heavy duty NOx standard took effect, with ‘significantly over’ 10,000 vehicles in 2015. The agency’s data also indicate that ‘nearly all engines for recent glider production’ are MY 1998-2002 that are not equipped with exhaust gas re-circulation (EGR), which lowers NOx emissions. The re-use of these older powertrains in glider kits also produces elevated levels of PM emissions that significantly exceed current standards and currently certified OEM products. Based upon recent EPA data, glider vehicle NOx levels are four to 40 times higher than current powertrains and PM levels are 50 to 450 times higher.”

Dave Cooke, senior vehicles analyst for the Union of Concerned Scientists, also spoke at the hearing. In a blog post published before the hearing, he discussed the research being used in this rulemaking process.

He criticized research submitted by Fitzgerald Trucks, the glider kit manufacturer reportedly behind the push to take glider kits out of the rule. “The tests were paid for by Fitzgerald and conducted using Fitzgerald’s equipment in Fitzgerald’s facilities,” Cooke said. “The results of the tests were incomplete and indicated that the work was sub-standard.” Among the shortcomings, he said, were that researchers did not use industry standard testing procedures; did not take samples of soot during testing but only “visually inspected” test probes; and did not test under “cold start” conditions when engines put out the most pollution.

Meanwhile, he said, higher quality data was recently published from EPA testing.

“According to the test results, it appears that these engines actually exceed the legal limits they were initially designed for. This means that the “special programming” of the engine Fitzgerald claims to do to the engines may result in greater fuel economy, but it means greater pollution, too,” Cooke writes.

More concerns

Quinn of the Heavy Duty Fuel Efficiency Leadership Group also emphasized the importance of national regulations, saying the group was concerned that repealing the glider provisions “could lead to an inconsistent patchwork of federal and state requirements, producing uncertainty for truck and engine manufacturers and fleets.”

California, of course, would be the most likely state to implement its own rules, and if so, it could be followed by others. Indeed, the California Air Resources Board spoke at the hearing as well. “This illegal effort by EPA will open the floodgates to allow unlimited numbers of old and dirty trucks to pour onto our streets and highways masquerading as brand new clean trucks,” said Steve Cliff, CARB deputy executive officer.

“The proposed repeal would legitimize the actions of the glider industry, which … has been blatantly circumventing emission control requirements and undermining the vast majority of businesses that play by the rules and clean up their trucks.”

Cliff and others also said repealing the glider requirements would also be in violation of the federal Clean Air Act. Excluding glider vehicles from the definition of “new motor vehicle,” he said, is inconsistent with the fact that glider vehicles are being manufactured, marketed, and sold as “new” vehicles.

The Diesel Technology Forum, which promotes “clean diesel,” issued a statement on the occasion of the hearing, noting that “the greatest benefits for the environment and for trucking customers lie in the adoption of the new generation of clean diesel technology, which would be slowed if the current requirements regarding glider vehicles were changed.”

"Almost 3 million heavy-duty diesel commercial vehicles introduced in the U.S. from 2011 through 2016 are now on the road, powered by the latest generation clean diesel engines. These trucks have delivered important benefits in the form of cleaner air, fewer carbon dioxide emissions and dramatic fuel savings," said Allen Schaeffer, DTF executive director. "Over a five-year period, the newest generation commercial vehicles have saved 4.2 billion gallons of diesel fuel, and reduced 43 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), 21 million tons of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and 1.2 million tons of particulate matter (PM)."

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