Cleaner Truck Rules Achieved Consensus — and Applause From All Sides

Believe it or not, heavy trucks, from the 18-wheelers that endlessly criss-cross our country to the vans that make local deliveries, have never been regulated for fuel economy, and they’ve certainly never been made to account for their global warming emissions. A new set of standards from EPA and the transportation safety agency NHTSA propose to do just that in the 2014 to 2018 model years. If the old paradigm was in effect, automakers and dealers would be holding press conferences to denounce the unwanted regulation, but with one notable exception they are holding hands and singing “Kumbaya.”

Why? The feds got consensus.

“The administration has taken the time to understand our industry and work with us so that we could improve together,” said Brandon Borgna, a spokesman for the American Trucking Associations. “They were very proactive in collaborating, and they invited us to be there in May when they signed the presidential memorandum about the standards.”

There’s a lot of low-hanging environmental fruit here, because the truck industry has never been effectively regulated. High fuel prices have hurt the bottom line, especially for independent truckers, but few have taken their troubles out on manufacturers that persisted with inefficient designs. National regulations mean that every company has to meet them, and innovators who “green” their trucks won’t get penalized because their vehicles are more expensive than everybody else’s.

All sides agreed that the improvements are achievable with technology that’s already available to trucking companies, and that the savings will come quickly. EPA said semi operators could save $74,000 over the lifetime of a truck meeting the new requirements. The only sticking point is higher truck prices.

The Obama approach to regulating trucks was modeled on the earlier fuel economy and greenhouse gas standards for cars and light-duty trucks in model years 2012 to 2016, announced last spring. That program, which requires cars to achieve 35.5 mpg by 2016, was also warmly received. Automakers said it finally achieved the single national standard they wanted (bringing California and its emission followers into the fold), and evolved out of an inclusive process.

By far the biggest polluters are tractor-trailers, and they’ll be required to cut carbon emissions and fuel use by 20 percent. Big gasoline-powered pickups and vans are on the hook for a 10 percent reduction, and their diesel variants 15 percent. A large catch-all category called “vocational vehicles” (including box trucks and garbage haulers) has to cut 10 percent.

ATA said it prefers fuel economy/greenhouse gas regulation to an alternative path that would increase diesel prices. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, in a press conference, spun the proposal as saving a significant amount of money for truckers, and indeed it will. ATA Vice President Glen Kedzie told me that when fuel prices hit $5 a gallon, as they have in recent year, it pushes fuel over labor as the number one cost for truckers.

But some truckers are still at least a little nervous. Kyle Treadway, chairman of the American Truck Dealers (ATD), is worried about price increase on new trucks as a result of the proposals, which are expected to make trucks lighter weight and more aerodynamic. The Department of Transportation put the average increased cost per truck at $5,900, and Treadway said, “We are concerned that this could price some buyers out of the market.”

But ATD went on to praise Obama and company for listening to truckers and “attempting to tailor its mandates to specific vehicle subclasses and to each manufacturer’s unique production.” ATD and ATA were in the smoke-filled room as the mandates were developed, and that makes all the difference.

EPA predicted that truckers could pay back the $5,900 in less than a year, and that’s a reasonable expectation. The proposed standards, which go through a 60-day comment period, are a model for achieving results with consensus. If the health care debate had gone this way, Obama’s poll numbers would be way up.

Environmentalists applauded the standards, too. According to Don Anair, a senior analyst in the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Clean Vehicles Program, “These first-ever standards would provide truckers with clean, fuel-saving technology that would save them money at the pump. Meanwhile, all Americans would benefit from cleaner air and less dependence on oil.”

UCS actually put its money where its mouth is by developing its own big rig, the Convoy, which showcases savings that could make trucks a lot cleaner. UCS’ only issue with the regs as currently constituted is that they regulate only the tractor — not the trailer. Improving trailer aerodynamics could result in an 8.5 percent fuel economy improvement, and adding more efficient tires up to 11 percent.

Related:

• Yes, he Can! Obama Needs to Push for Strong Fuel Economy/Greenhouse Gas Rules
• It’s Getting Hot in Here: The High Stakes Debate over Fuel Economy and Greenhouse Gas Standards

Photo: Flickr/Fred Lloyd