Executives Raise Concerns Over ULSD Shortages in Disasters

HOENIX — A national disaster akin to Hurricanes Katrina or Rita in the next few years could spell trouble for the trucking industry once trucks requiring ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel are in wide use, trucking industry executives and engine manufacturers said.

Trucks built to meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2007 engine exhaust standards require fuel with no more sulfur than 15 parts per million to run properly, but EPA does not have a specific plan for future disaster-related ULSD shortages, agency representatives confirmed.

“We don’t know what the administration will do,” said Chester France, director of the EPA’s Assessment and Standards Division. “The new trucks are designed for 15 ppm [sulfur] and they need 15 ppm. If there is a crisis, we can’t forecast how we will respond with respect to the new trucks, but it has to be taken into consideration.”