OOIDA: Send EPA feedback on Cleaner Trucks Initiative

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association wants its members to let the Environmental Protection Agency know what they think should be included in the agency’s Cleaner Trucks Initiative proposal.

The EPA’s advance notice of proposed rulemaking, which aims to create the framework for “new emissions standards for oxides of nitrogen and other pollutants for highway heavy-duty engines, published in the Federal Register on Jan. 21. Comments must be received on or before Feb. 20.

“EPA is encouraging stakeholder input, specifically from commercial motor vehicle drivers, to update NOx emissions standards for heavy-duty vehicles,” OOIDA wrote on its Fighting for Truckers website. “OOIDA encourages its members to provide feedback on the proposal including reliability, serviceability, and warranties.

“Make sure EPA knows the problems you have encountered with emissions systems and the impact they have had on your business.”

OOIDA’s guide to commenting on the Cleaner Trucks Initiative

For those who are not sure where to start, OOIDA provides a comment guide for more information about what issues and experiences to mention in your public comments.

“It’s imperative our members provide thoughtful comments that include the difficulties they had with previous emissions reduction technology,” said Collin Long, OOIDA’s director of federal affairs.

In November 2018, the EPA announced plans to start the Cleaner Trucks Initiative as a way to update standards for NOx emissions from heavy-duty vehicles.

The EPA said it has assembled a team to gather scientific and technical data needed to inform the agency’s notice of proposed rulemaking.

“We intend the Cleaner Trucks Initiative to be a holistic rethinking of emission standards and compliance,” the notice said.

EPA said it plans to develop its proposal based on the following principles:

• The goal should be to reduce in-use emissions under a broad range of operating conditions.
• The agency should consider and enable effective technological solutions while carefully considering the cost impacts.
• Compliance and enforcement provisions should be fair and effective.
• Regulations should incentivize early compliance and innovation.
• EPA should ensure a coordinated 50-state program.
• EPA should actively engage with interested stakeholders.

Comments may be made here or by going to the Regulations.gov website and entering docket number EPA-HQ-OAR-2019-0055.

Editor’s note:Regulations.gov has rolled out a beta testing site that may be causing users some trouble locating the docket to comment on. The links provided above go to the legacy site, not the beta testing site. The home page where you search for EPA-HQ-OAR-2019-0055 should look like the image below. If that is not what the site looks like, you are likely on the beta site, pictured next. When searching for EPA-HQ-OAR-2019-0055 on the beta site you will have to sort the results by clicking on the “open for comment option” highlighted in the image below. OOIDA members needing assistance filing comments are welcome to call the Business Services Department at 816-229-5791.

Regulations.gov legacy site

Regulations.gov beta testing site