President Trump said he plans to nominate Andrew Wheeler as permanent EPA chief

President Donald Trump said he will nominate Andrew Wheeler to be the permanent administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, several media outlets reported on Friday, Nov. 16.

According to the reports, Trump made the announcement during a Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony at the White House.

Wheeler has served as the EPA’s acting administrator since Scott Pruitt resigned from the post in July.

After Wheeler is formally nominated, he will need to be confirmed by the Senate before he can take over the role permanently.

Last week, Wheeler announced EPA’s Cleaner Trucks Initiative, which will aim to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions from heavy-duty trucks.

OOIDA Executive Vice President Lewie Pugh attended the announcement in Washington, D.C. Pugh raised concerns over the reliability of the new engines and said he didn’t want owner-operators to be used as “guinea pigs” for new technology and get priced out of the business.

“We appreciate the EPA inviting OOIDA to participate in the roundtable to discuss changes to NOx standards for heavy-duty trucks,” Pugh said. “We are hopeful that the agency understands we bring a unique perspective to the discussion and that the policy makers will embrace the concerns of the owner-operator as they explore updated NOx standards. Clean air is a priority for everyone, but the technology used in heavy-duty trucks to accomplish this has to be affordable and reliable.”

In another truck-related EPA issue, Wheeler told Land Line Now last week that the agency is working on a way to keep glider vehicles as an option for small-business truckers.

“Gliders make up a small but important part of the trucking industry and we’re continuing to work to address the gliders on a separate regulatory path,” he said. “Our team is developing a legally sound approach to appropriately regulate gliders by working with the industry to improve the emissions profile of their operations and not by putting them out of business as is the case with the existing cap.”