Repeal of emissions requirements for glider kits could be finalized as soon as this month

According to a 2018 spring regulatory report issued by federal agencies, the Environmental Protection Agency’s rule to repeal emissions standards on glider kits could be finalized as soon as this month.

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs estimated that the repeal would become a final rule in May 2018.

In November, the EPA proposed a rule to repeal emissions requirements for glider vehicles, glider engines and glider kits. The EPA said the proposal was based on an interpretation of the Clean Air Act under which “glider kits would not be treated as incomplete new motor vehicles.” Under the proposed interpretation, EPA would lack the authority to regulate the gliders.

Simply put, the EPA said that gliders aren’t new trucks and that they shouldn’t be regulated like new trucks.

However, several lawmakers and environmentalist groups oppose the repeal.

Sens. Tom Carper, D-Del., and Tom Udall, D-N.M., sent a letter on March 12 to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt asking him to withdraw the proposal. The letter from Carper and Udall claimed that glider trucks “are some of the dirtiest heavy-duty trucks on the road.”

The comment period on the proposed repeal ended Jan. 5. The EPA received more than 24,000 comments. Many truck drivers and members of the glider kit industry spoke favorably of the rule, while many environmental groups and the American Trucking Associations opposed the repeal.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association commented in favor of the repeal, saying that glider kits offer small-business truck drivers a more affordable and reliable alternative to increasingly expensive new vehicles.

“The EPA’s initial decision to classify glider kits, glider vehicles and glider engines as ‘new motor vehicles’ under the Clean Air Act would irreparably damage a truck manufacturing industry that has become increasingly popular in recent years,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer said in a letter sent to the Committee on Environment and Public Works in January.

“Since 2002, federal environmental regulations alone have increased the cost of a new truck between $50,000 and $70,000, as costly components and systems have been mandated. Given their unique assembly, glider kit prices are typically 25 percent to 30 percent less than a new truck, allowing owner-operators who often work on the slimmest of margins, to save tens of thousands of dollars on their purchase.”