DOT, EPA Officials Eager to Work With ATA on Policies
WASHINGTON — Two federal executive branch officials told members of American Trucking Associations they are eager to work with the federation on spending and regulatory issues that are developing this year.
The Transportation Department’s acting undersecretary told ATA’s executive committee on Jan. 27 that a new five or six-year highway-funding bill is “an urgent need” that is “absolutely critical” because they highway trust fund will probably go bankrupt before the current MAP-21 law expires Sept. 30.
Peter Rogoff, who assumed the undersecretary’s job the day he spoke to ATA, said failure to authorize highway funding could lead to states shutting down highway projects during the summer, which is the height of road construction season.
He also said the department is particularly interested in hearing from trucking on the location of the nation’s worst traffic bottlenecks. Rogoff said the department wants to avoid funding a random collection of road projects.
Janet McCabe, an acting assistant administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, said her agency is working on Phase 2 of the federal greenhouse gas rule that went into effect at the start of this year. The next tightening of carbon dioxide emissions limits for trucks is supposed to start in 2017.
