State Trucking Groups Win One CARB Battle, Face Another
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State trucking associations facing duplicated California emission regulations welcomed the defeat of its Advanced Clean Fleets rule, but remain concerned about the imposition of its heavy-trucking regulations.
The California Air Resources Board abandoned its pursuit of regulatory approval by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of its ACF rule Jan. 14. However, CARB’s Advanced Clean Trucks regulation is still being enforced in California and taking effect at various stages in 10 states.
The first states that have CARB’s ACT restrictions beginning this year are Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Washington. Vermont’s date begins in 2026. Colorado, Maryland, New Mexico and Rhode Island begin in 2027.
“While we view this as a positive, it wasn’t entirely unexpected and really does not impact Maryland,” said Louis Campion, president and CEO of Maryland Motor Truck Association. “EPA had never given the waiver yet to California on the ACF rule [which was a purchase requirement for zero-emission trucks in California], only on the Advance Clean Trucks Rule [which is the sales requirement on the manufacturers to sell an increasing percentage of ZEV trucks].”
Campion
He theorized CARB reversed its plans to move forward with the ACF waiver since it would be unfeasible with the Biden administration leaving and President Donald Trump’s taking over.
Rebecca Oyler, Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association president and CEO, reacted favorably to CARB’s abandonment of its proposed clean fleets regulation.
“While this is a step in the right direction, trucking companies, dealers and manufacturers in Pennsylvania and across the country are operating with an uncertain future. Pennsylvania companies are making business decisions for 2027 now. They can’t wait any longer for politicians to realize CARB’s policies are not only not practical, but not feasible,” Oyler said. “When the fate of an industry in your state hinges on a policy decision of another state, there’s something wrong. This is why PMTA and several of our members are challenging the implementation of the CARB NOx rule in Pennsylvania.”
Oyler
Although she noted that Pennsylvania wasn’t among the early adopters of the forced electrification of vehicles, she said PMTA members who sell trucks to companies in surrounding states already are experiencing problems from the rubberstamping of CARB regulations in nearby states.
“PMTA is grateful for the work of our colleagues in other states demonstrating how unachievable and unworkable CARB’s mandates are,” Oyler explained. “This is an opportunity to discuss the problems that occur when states delegate their emissions rules to unelected bureaucrats in another state, which is happening in Pennsylvania with the rolling adoption of the CARB NOx rule.”
Truckers, business leaders and state lawmakers in Massachusetts have been voicing their concerns about the negative impacts of the ACT restrictions to no avail with Gov. Maura Healey, said Kevin Weeks, executive director of the Trucking Association of Massachusetts.
Weeks
“While Massachusetts, as one of the early CARB adopters, is happy that the ACF regulation was pulled, we are in the midst of the unworkable Advanced Clean Truck rule, which was instituted Jan. 1. Our efforts, as well as a coalition of over 40 Massachusetts associations, have yet to be able to get any response from the Healey administration on a deal to this well-intentioned but unrealistic mandate,” Weeks said.
Some 46 state legislators unsuccessfully petitioned the governor and state environmental protection commissioner in a Dec. 23 letter to postpone until January 2027 the adoption of CARB’s ACT and Heavy Duty Omnibus rules.
Massachusetts Request to Delay ACT
“We will continue working to promote a common-sense approach that balances Massachusetts’ environmental goals with reality, but to date, common sense is not prevailing in Massachusetts,” Weeks said.
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