The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed scaling back several pollution-control requirements for heavy-duty vehicles, including buses, semis, garbage trucks, and fire engines. The agency announced the changes on Thursday, revising parts of a Biden-era clean-air rule that established stricter standards for heavy-duty engines beginning with model year 2027.
The proposal would shorten mandatory warranties for emissions-control systems, delay requirements governing how long engines must continue meeting emissions standards, and eliminate mandatory power and speed reductions when certain pollution-control systems malfunction. The underlying model-year 2027 tailpipe standards for nitrogen oxides (NOx) would remain in place, meaning manufacturers would still have to meet substantially tighter limits on pollution from new engines.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the changes could ultimately lower costs for consumers by making transportation less expensive. 'Even if you’ve never driven a truck in your life, when it costs less to move goods, it costs less to buy them,' Zeldin said Thursday at the Great American State Fair on the National Mall in Washington. 'Those savings get passed down to you at the grocery store and the hardware store on nearly everything a truck delivers.'
The proposal is open for public comment through Aug. 29. The EPA plans to hold virtual public hearings on July 29–30. The agency noted that some 2027 medium and heavy-duty engine development programs have experienced technical challenges, proposing to allow manufacturers to continue selling current products while they complete development of 2027-compliant engines.
The EPA said the changes strike a balance between cleaner air and lower costs for consumers. 'We protect the air. We protect your pocketbook,' Zeldin said. 'It doesn’t have to be one or the other.'