The final version of the Phase 2 federal greenhouse-gas regulation for trucks on June 3 was sent to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review.
Federal regulators are intent on publishing the final version of Phase 2 of GHG regulations for medium- and heavy-duty trucks by August, but recent comments on the proposal have shown disagreement among truck and engine makers, industry and environmental advocates and manufacturers of glider kits.
The proposed joint greenhouse-gas Phase 1 rule of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration took effect in January 2014, and the second half starts Jan. 1.
In February 2014, President Obama asked EPA and NHTSA to write a Phase 2 rule, and the proposal was published in June 2015.
In its current form, the rule would start regulating trailers in 2018 and trucks in three stages: 2021, 2024 and 2027.
The rulemaking would respond to requirements of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which was signed into law Dec. 19, 2007. The statute requires that regulators establish a medium- and heavy-duty on-highway vehicle and work truck fuel efficiency improvement program that achieves the maximum feasible improvement, including standards that are “appropriate, cost-effective and technologically feasible.”
The law also requires that the new standards provide at least four full model years of regulatory lead time and three full model years of regulatory stability.
