US EPA grants waivers for California heavy-duty vehicle and engine emission standards
31 March 2023
Today, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted two waivers of preemption regarding four California Air Resource Board (CARB) regulations related to California’s heavy-duty vehicle and engine emission standards.
Under the Clean Air Act, California is afforded broad discretion to adopt emissions requirements to meet their air quality challenges, but they must seek waivers from EPA for new motor vehicle emission standards. In this instance, CARB requested two waivers for regulations relating to heavy-duty vehicles and engines.
These waivers of preemption address the following California programs:
- The 2018 Heavy-duty 2018 Warranty Amendments, which extend the emissions warranty periods for 2022 and subsequent model year on-road heavy-duty diesel engines and for 2022 and subsequent model year diesel vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating exceeding 14,000 pounds powered by such engines.
- The Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) Regulation, which requires that manufacturers produce and sell increasing quantities of medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) and near zero emission vehicles (NZEVs) in California. This waiver request also includes two additional regulations:
- The Zero Emission Airport Shuttle Bus (ZEAS) Regulation, which establishes steadily increasing zero-emission airport shuttle fleet composition requirements for airport shuttle fleet owners who service the 13 largest California airports.
- The Zero Emission Powertrain (ZEP) Certification Regulation, which establishes certification requirements and optional emission standards for 2021 and subsequent model year medium- and heavy-duty ZEVs and the zero-emission powertrains installed in such vehicles.
At this time, no waiver has been issued for the CARB’s Heavy-Duty Omnibus Low NOx Regulation which establishes emission standards for NOx and other pollutants for new 2024 and later on-road medium- and heavy-duty engines and vehicles. CARB has asked for additional time before the Agency acts on the waiver request for this regulation, the EPA said.
The California heavy-duty truck regulations continue to be opposed by the trucking industry over concerns about the added costs and other burdens of the transition to zero-emission vehicle fleets. “The state and federal regulators collaborating on this unrealistic patchwork of regulations have no grasp on the real costs of designing, building, manufacturing and operating the trucks that deliver their groceries, clothes and goods, but they will certainly feel the pain when these fanciful projections lead to catastrophic disruptions well beyond California’s borders,” said Chris Spear, president of American Trucking Associations, in a statement.
Source: US EPA