EPA rule cracks down on truck emission limits

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Tuesday updated emission standards for heavy-duty commercial vehicles for the 2027 model year, tightening tailpipe limits to a level 80%-plus below the current standard and requiring OEMs extend warranties to 450,000 miles from 100,000 and useful life limits to 650,000 miles from 435,000 miles.

The new standards require heavy-duty commercial vehicles to limit nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions to 0.035 grams per horsepower-hour during normal operation, 0.050 grams at low load, and 10.0 grams at idle. They will increase the useful life of governed vehicles by 1.5–2.5 times and yield emissions warranties that are 2.8–4.5 times longer – provisions that guarantee that as vehicles age, they will continue to meet EPA’s more stringent emissions standards for a longer period of time.

EPA estimates that direct manufacturing costs include the technology costs, plus some costs to improve the durability of the technology through regulatory useful life, to be just more than $2,300 for a heavy-duty diesel engine. 

The 1,153-page rule also requires manufacturers to better ensure that vehicle engines and emission control systems work properly on the road, including demonstrate that engines are designed to prevent vehicle drivers and fleets from tampering with emission controls by limiting tamper-prone access to electronic pollution controls.

In reducing emission levels and lengthening durability and life requirements, EPA seeks to ensure the U.S. transportation sector can continue to sustain economic growth without harming the health of our communities, "especially the health of 72 million people living near truck freight routes in America, including our most vulnerable populations in historically overburdened communities,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan.

Tuesday's action is the first under EPA’s Clean Trucks Plan, which intends to pave the way to a zero-emissions future.

"These rigorous standards, coupled with historic investments from the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law," Regan said, "will accelerate President Biden’s ambitious agenda to overhaul the nation’s trucking fleet, deliver cleaner air, and protect people and the planet.”

Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association President Todd Spencer noted the legislation could potentially slow the migration toward cleaner burning, more modern trucks that is currently underway, leaving small fleets and independent drivers to choose between compliance and going out of business.

"If small business truckers can’t afford the new, compliant trucks, they’re going to stay with older, less efficient trucks, or leave the industry entirely," he said. "Once again, EPA has largely ignored the warnings and concerns raised by truckers in this latest rule.”

The American Truck Dealers group has voiced similar concerns with the more stringent standards, noting that the standards could increase the cost of heavy-duty trucks by an average of $42,000. 

“A model year 1990 truck emits more NOx in one year than a new modern truck generates over a 30-year period,” ATD Chairman Scott McCandless says. “If truck buyers are deterred from purchasing trucks due to increased costs and new, untested technology, these older trucks will stay on the road much longer.”

Truck and engine manufacturers have been expecting this EPA action for years, although the finer details and limits were not official until Tuesday. The Engine Manufacturers Association last March went so far as to request the Diesel Engine Oil Advisory Panel (DEOAP) establish a New Category Evaluation Team (NCET) to explore a new engine oil formulation to support the regulations. Earlier this year NCET suggested proceeding and officially kicked off the test development phase of the proposed category – PC-12.

Forthcoming and expected regulatory action has also been a driving force behind the industry's march toward electrification and ultra-clean diesel engines. 

“We applaud the EPA’s work in establishing new standards for harmful truck emissions. The final rule announced [Tuesday] provides the regulatory certainty needed to deploy the next generation of fuel-efficient and emission-reduction technologies,” said João Faria, president, Eaton’s Vehicle Group. “Eaton has been developing emission-reducing solutions as part of the transformation of its vehicle business to meet the needs of future low- and zero-emissions transportation and further reduce greenhouse gas emissions."

EPA estimates that by 2045, the rule will result in up to 2,900 fewer premature deaths; 6,700 fewer hospital admissions and emergency department visits; 18,000 fewer cases of childhood asthma; 3.1 million fewer cases of asthma symptoms and allergic rhinitis symptoms; 78,000 fewer lost days of work; 1.1 million fewer lost school days for children; and $29 billion in annual net benefits.

In the coming months, EPA intends to release the proposals for the remaining two steps in its Clean Trucks Plan, including the proposed greenhouse gas (GHG) Phase 3 standards for heavy-duty vehicles beginning in Model Year 2027, as well as the proposed multi-pollutant standards for light- and medium-duty vehicles beginning in Model Year 2027. These additional rulemakings will consider recent Congressional action, including resources for electrification from the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that EPA anticipates "will lead to swift adoption of zero-emission vehicle technologies," the agency said. "Taken together, these rulemakings will put in place stringent long-term standards that will reduce dangerous smog, soot, and climate pollution from heavy-duty vehicles."

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