Truck emission rules: what changed, what didn’t
When it comes to truck emission rules, a lot has changed in the last year. Although those changes are real improvements, some truck drivers have been led to believe they deliver more than they actually do.
More than 15 years’ worth of emission rules are currently on the chopping block. Certain California truck emission rules have been completely eliminated. Meanwhile, the federal government has addressed diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) and diesel particulate filters (DPF).
Individually, there is nothing too complicated about these changes. However, the rapid speed at which they have occurred has made them convoluted, with some people conflating any combination of these changes.
Let’s unpack what has changed, and more importantly, what has not changed.
RUMOR – False:
Anyone can drive in California now
One of the biggest changes is the elimination of several California Air Resources Board (CARB) rules. Can any truck now operate in California?
The short answer: no.
At the tail end of the last White House administration, the Environmental Protection Agency cleared several CARB truck emission rules. Those include Advanced Clean Trucks and the Omnibus Low NOx regulation.
The Advanced Clean Trucks rule required an increasing percentage of truck manufacturers’ Class 7-8 truck sales to be zero-direct-emission trucks. Meanwhile, the Omnibus rule set stricter truck emission standards for truck engines.
None of those rules directly regulated truck drivers. Rather, they fell on truck and engine manufacturers. However, truck drivers would likely have had to buy either a zero-emission truck or a diesel truck at an inflated price.
Last June, Congress passed several resolutions that killed those truck emission rules. Effectively, purchasing a new truck in California is back to business as usual.
That’s pretty much the only change in California.
Rules dictating which trucks are allowed to operate in California remain in place, including the Clean Truck Check.
For three years, any truck operating in California must be registered and pass an emission test. Essentially, if your truck doesn’t have a 2010 or newer engine, it’s not allowed in California.
Bottom line: If you couldn’t drive in California before this year, you still can’t today.
RUMOR – False:
Trump ended DEF
The Environmental Protection Agency is set to roll back 15 years’ worth of truck emission regulations. DEF requirements are not among them.
Last July, the EPA announced a rulemaking that would withdraw the 2009 endangerment finding. Many truck emission regulations implemented since 2010 hinge on that one document.
Since that announcement, there has been a lot of chatter about what that means for DEF. Long story short: DEF isn’t going anywhere … for now.
Without getting too deep into the environmental weeds, the 2009 endangerment finding allows the federal government to regulate greenhouse gases emitted from vehicles. DEFs address nitrogen oxides, which are criteria pollutants, not greenhouse gases.
The EPA did not eliminate DEF, but it is trying to make the technology less burdensome.
Last August, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin urged truck and engine manufacturers to reconfigure the derating schedule that prevents trucks from suddenly shutting down.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association said the new “commonsense” schedules will help drivers maintain safe control of their vehicles as they fix a faulty DEF/SCR system.
“More flexible inducement speeds and times will help truckers finish their trips, plan for necessary maintenance and avoid parking their truck for an extended period simply because of a false alarm,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer said in a statement. “Nonsensical inducement rules have sidelined small-business truckers for too long, and this accelerated relief shows what can be achieved when regulators hear directly from the people doing the job. We look forward to continued engagement with Administrator Zeldin and his staff to implement additional emissions solutions that better reflect the realities of trucking.”
Some carriers may receive legislative relief from DEF requirements. Introduced by Sens. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., the Cold Weather Diesel Reliability Act would provide a year-round exemption for trucks that operate primarily in cold climates. Neither the House nor the Senate version has received any traction so far.
Bottom line: : DEF isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, but trucks won’t shut down without plenty of warning now.
RUMOR – False:
DPF deletion is legal now
President Donald Trump pardoned a diesel mechanic sentenced for tampering with DPFs. That means it is no longer illegal, right?
Wrong.
While it is true that Trump did pardon Troy Lake, who had spent seven months in federal prison for deleting DPFs, tampering with truck emission controls is still illegal. A pardon forgives criminal convictions. It does not erase the conviction itself, let alone the crime in its entirety.
Like DEF systems, the EPA’s current rulemaking on the 2009 endangerment finding has no direct effect on DPFs. That includes the requirement and ban on tampering with them. That’s because DPFs deal with particulate matter, which is also a criteria pollutant like nitrogen oxides.
That being said, Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., has introduced a bill that could change all of that. The Diesel Truck Liberation Act would end the prosecution of anyone tampering with DEF/DPF systems. It would also vacate existing related sentences. That bill also has not picked up any support.
Bottom line: Tampering with DPFs is still a federal crime. LL